Abstract
Introduction: India is committed to achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, aiming to eradicate human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) by 2030. India has 2.4 million people living with HIV. This study aims to identify gender gaps in internet access and their impact on comprehensive HIV knowledge.
Methods: India’s National Family Health Survey-5 (NFHS-5) data, which is public and anonymised, is used for the study. The sample is divided into urban and rural men and women. Correlation coefficient analysis, linear regression analysis, and descriptive statistical analysis were performed.
Results: National-level data on internet access show a greater number of men with internet access (total 57.1%, urban 72.5%, and rural 48.7%) than women (total 33.3%, urban 51.8%, and rural 24.6%). The descriptive analysis shows that in every region of India; men are more numerous compared to women with access to the internet and comprehensive knowledge of HIV. Linear regression analysis at a significance level of 0.05, when compared with the total women population (0.347), urban women (0.3529), and rural women (0.3963), with values for total men population (0.6051), urban men (0.4159), and rural men (0.5538) for the study variables, shows a significant gender difference. Correlation coefficient analysis at a significance level of 0.05 shows a linear association between the study variables.
Conclusion: This study identified an urban-rural and gender disparity. As a result, differences were discovered in internet access and HIV awareness. Men have more access to the internet than women. Our findings revealed a clear link between internet access and HIV knowledge. Gender inequalities affect social variables such as access to technology, with men having greater access to the internet than women. Men, irrespective of cities or rural areas, have greater access to the internet than women, which may explain why they are more knowledgeable about HIV. Compared to rural women, urban women have better internet access, which could explain why urban women have a higher level of HIV knowledge. Gender inequality in information access has an impact on health outcomes.