{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,9]],"date-time":"2026-06-09T06:03:21Z","timestamp":1780985001866,"version":"3.54.1"},"reference-count":46,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,9]],"date-time":"2026-06-09T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1780963200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100007446","name":"King Khalid University","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["RGP1"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["RGP1"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100007446","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Public Health"],"abstract":"<jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Introduction<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region has experienced a notable increase in HIV infections in recent years, with limited epidemiological and behavioral data from Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, including Saudi Arabia. This study aimed to address the critical knowledge gaps by examining HIV-related knowledge, attitudes, and testing behaviors among adults in Saudi Arabia to inform culturally appropriate public health interventions.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Methodology<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>A cross-sectional survey was conducted among adults from various regions of Saudi Arabia. Data were collected using a validated electronic Arabic-language questionnaire that assessed socio-demographic characteristics, objective HIV knowledge, self-perceived knowledge, attitudes towards people living with HIV (PLWHIV), history of testing, exposure to health education, and perceptions of societal stigma. A total of 475 eligible respondents were considered in the analyses.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      The overall mean HIV knowledge score was 6.62 \u00b1 2.44. Although 364 (76.6%) of participants identified the primary modes of HIV transmission, 209 (44.0%) perceived HIV as a fatal disease. Furthermore, 258 (54.3%) of respondents perceived Saudi society as \u201cnot accepting\u201d of people living with HIV (PLWHIV), and 285 (60.0%) considered discussions about HIV to be culturally sensitive. The rate of voluntary HIV testing was low. The predominant reason cited was \u201ctesting was unnecessary\u201d. However, among those who had never been tested, 177 (54.5%) expressed willingness to undergo testing if it were provided free of charge and confidential. Majorities of respondents supported the integration of HIV-related information into educational curricula (93.5%). Higher educational attainment (\n                      <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\n                      = 0.003), prior HIV testing (\n                      <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\n                      &amp;lt; 0.001), and exposure to health education (\n                      <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\n                      &amp;lt; 0.001) were significantly associated with higher HIV knowledge scores. Interestingly, 99 (66.0%) of individuals who had previously undergone HIV testing, compared with 159 (48.9%) of those who had never been tested, perceived society as non-accepting of PLWHIV.\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Discussion<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>This study confirms substantial gaps in comprehensive HIV knowledge, persistent societal stigma, and low uptake of voluntary HIV testing among adults in Saudi Arabia. Despite these challenges, there is a considerable public support for expanding HIV education and improving access to testing services. The findings highlight the urgent need for culturally sensitive, evidence-based public health strategies that address knowledge deficits, reduce stigma, and promote widely accessible HIV testing services. Strengthening these efforts is essential to accelerate Saudi Arabia\u2019s progress toward achieving the UNAIDS 95-95-95 targets.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/fpubh.2026.1830405","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,9]],"date-time":"2026-06-09T05:41:23Z","timestamp":1780983683000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Human immunodeficiency virus knowledge, attitudes, and testing behaviors among adults in Saudi Arabia: a cross-sectional analysis to inform public health strategies"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"14","author":[{"given":"Yahya Mohamed","family":"Shabi","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Microbiology and Clinical Parasitology, College of Medicine, King Khalid University","place":["Abha, Saudi Arabia"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Abdelwahid Saeed","family":"Ali","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Microbiology and Clinical Parasitology, College of Medicine, King Khalid University","place":["Abha, Saudi Arabia"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Abdulah Jarboa","family":"Alqahtani","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Microbiology and Clinical Parasitology, College of Medicine, King Khalid University","place":["Abha, Saudi Arabia"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Amal Khairan","family":"Alamri","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Adult Infectious Diseases, Armed Forces Hospital Southern Region (AFHSR)","place":["Khamis Mushait, Saudi Arabia"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Nada Abdullah","family":"Alharbi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Basic Medical Sciences, College of Medicine, Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University","place":["Riyadh, Saudi Arabia"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Thamir Saad","family":"Alsaeed","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Biology and Immunology, College of Medicine, Qassim University","place":["Riyadh, Saudi Arabia"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,9]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref1","year":"2025"},{"key":"ref2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"e0288838","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0288838","article-title":"Assessing the knowledge and attitude towards HIV\/AIDS among the general population and health care professionals in MENA region","volume":"18","author":"Elghazaly","year":"2023","journal-title":"PLoS One"},{"key":"ref3","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"66","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ijid.2015.11.008","article-title":"HIV\/AIDS: trends in the Middle East and North Africa 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