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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 16, 2004
Report: Zambian Youth Choose Abstinence More Often
As a Result of Multimedia HIV/AIDS Prevention Program
HEART Leads More to Abstain than Use Condoms BALTIMORE — Young adults exposed to an innovative HIV/AIDS prevention program in Zambia were more likely to say they chose to abstain from sex than report condom use after seeing television spots promoting the two prevention options, according to a new Health Communication Partnership (HCP) report.
Designed by youth for youth, the Helping Each other Act Responsibly Together (HEART) program provides young adults with information about HIV/AIDS, discusses ways to prevent HIV/AIDS, and promotes abstinence and condom use. Supported by the U.S. Agency for International Development, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health/Center for Communication Programs (CCP) and Population Services International help implement HEART.
"Zambia's young people face a grim future with HIV prevalence at 16 percent and poor socio-economic conditions," said CCP Director Jane Bertrand, PhD, MBA. “But HEART gives young men and women a reason to hope for a future free of HIV/AIDS because they know they have the ability to prevent it, whether by abstaining or choosing to use a condom.”
In the latest issue of HCP's Communication Impact! , which evaluates HEART's third phase, researchers surveyed young adults exposed to the program and found that they were more likely to say they chose “to abstain” than to report that they decided to use a condom as a result of seeing HEART television spots.
The research also showed that about 64% of urban respondents reported that they had seen all or some of HEART's television spots, while approximately 14% of rural respondents saw one or more. And viewers were significantly more likely than non-viewers to mention abstinence as a way to avoid transmission. Viewers compared with non-viewers were also more likely to mention condom use and having only one partner as ways to avoid HIV.
In the third phase of HEART, several message concepts were used after testing their effectiveness with youth focus groups. One spot promotes the delay of sexual debut and, among sexually active male youth, a return to abstinence and suggests the important role fathers play in supporting their sons to practice abstinence. Another message concept aimed at adolescent girls — Virgin Power, Virgin Pride — frowns on “sugar daddies” and getting gifts for sex, while promoting abstinence.
Six years ago, the Government of the Republic of Zambia (GRZ) asked USAID and its implementing partner, the Zambia Integrated Health Programme (ZIHP), to work with young people to address the HIV/AIDS problem, with the support and guidance of Zambia 's Central Board of Health (CBOH), the National AIDS Council and Secretariat (NAC), and other nongovernmental organizations. The result was the HEART program.
Research continues to show, however, that young Zambians are confused about how HIV is transmitted, with 17% of young men and 22% of young women believing it can be transmitted by mosquitoes, and 15% of young men and 14% of young women thinking HIV is transmitted by witchcraft. Because of the ongoing need to reach out to young people, particularly in rural areas, HEART's fourth phase launched this year with radio messages, in local languages, echoing the messages in the television spots.
HCP is a global communication initiative based at Hopkins ' CCP in partnership with the Academy for Educational Development, Save the Children, the International HIV/AIDS Alliance, and Tulane University 's School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine. In addition to the five core partners, HCP works with leading Southern-based health communication organizations as well as global programming partners from the corporate sector, international media, academic institutions, and faith-based organizations. For more information about HCP, visit www.hcpartnership.org .
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