Stigma Reduction and Community Mobilization for HIV Prevention via Multimedia Programs
Council researchers with the Horizons program tested the impact of a communication for social change strategy to promote HIV stigma reduction, gender equity, and HIV prevention among young people in Nicaragua.
This study aimed to test the impact of a communication for social change strategy, Somos Diferentes, Somos Iguales, to promote HIV stigma reduction, gender equity, and HIV prevention among youth in Nicaragua. Researchers with the Council's Horizons program provided technical assistance and capacity building during the study.
Intervention activities included the development and implementation of a new HIV-related story line in a widely viewed, socially conscious telenovela, and an interactive radio show that reinforces and further explores issues raised in the telenovela. These activities were complemented by the promotion of collective efficacy and action for HIV risk reduction via links made between the telenovela and radio show, and interpersonal and community-based activities, such as peer education trainings, meetings with existing local and national NGO networks, and, where possible, public programs. All activities focused on a population aged 13–24 years.
The intervention was evaluated both qualitatively (e.g., through focus group discussions) and quantitatively (e.g., via indicators of gender roles/norms). Participants were interviewed four times: prior to the start of the intervention, during the intervention period, immediately after the intervention was completed, and six months after the intervention was completed (to explore lasting effects).
Banner photo: © 1988 Harry Blässar, courtesy of Photoshare
Key findings include:
- Exposure to the Somos Diferentes, Somos Iguales (SDSI) project was widespread.
- Greater exposure to SDSI led to positive changes on a population level, such as a significant reduction of stigmatizing and gender-inequitable attitudes, an increase in knowledge and use of HIV-related services, and a significant increase in interpersonal communication about HIV prevention and sexual behavior.
- Qualitative findings indicate that SDSI played an important role in promoting community-based dialogue on key topics, strengthened youth leadership, and fostered alliances between organizations.
- Data suggest that greater exposure to SDSI has positive effects on interpersonal communication, which in turn helps people perceive their own personal risk of contracting HIV, and provides greater capacity for individuals to address the issue of prevention with their partners.
- The impact evaluation demonstrates that the SDSI strategy has made a large-scale contribution in key aspects of HIV prevention. In addition to individual behavior changes directly associated with greater exposure to SDSI and societal-level changes identified in the evaluation’s qualitative studies, the results validate the conceptual framework of both the intervention and the evaluation. The results suggest that individual behaviors (e.g., consistent condom use in sexual relations) are not isolated from the environment in which people live, but rather are related to social contexts and processes.
Very few studies in the field of social communication have been as rigorously implemented as this impact evaluation. In this sense, the study’s results represent an important contribution to international literature on the effectiveness of this kind of program. The results of this study provide an opportunity to explore and reflect on the methodologies used to evaluate communication for social change, improve the design and implementation of prevention programs, analyze issues and concerns related to societal and individual behavior change, and analyze the potential for integrating edutainment and social mobilization with HIV prevention.
Propiciando cambio personal y social alrededor del género, sexualidad y VIH: Evaluación de impacto de la estrategia de comunicación de Puntos de Encuentro en Nicaragua [
Catalyzing personal and social change around gender, sexuality, and HIV: Impact evaluation of Puntos de Encuentro´s communication strategy in Nicaragua] (PDF)
Solorzano,Irela; Bank,Amy; Pena,Rodolfo; Espinoza,Henry; Ellsberg,Mary; Pulerwitz,Julie
Horizons Final Report
Publication date: 2008
Catalyzing personal and social change around gender, sexuality, and HIV: Impact evaluation of Puntos de Encuentro´s communication strategy in Nicaragua (PDF)
Solorzano,Irela; Bank,Amy; Pena,Rodolfo; Espinoza,Henry; Ellsberg,Mary; Pulerwitz,Julie
Horizons Final Report
Publication date: 2008
Using edutainment and social activities to challenge machismo in Nicaragua. The example of Somos Diferentes, Somos Iguales (abstract) (HTML)
Espinoza,Henry; van Beelen,Nel
Sexual Health Exchange 2: 9-10
Publication date: 2005
Project Stats
Location: Nicaragua (Esteli, León, Juigalpa)
Program(s):
HIV and AIDS
Topic(s):
Behavior change
HIV prevention
Stigma and discrimination
Duration: 5/2003 - 12/2006
Non-Council collaborators:
Amy Bank (Puntos de Encuentro)
Irela Solozano (Puntos de Encuentro)
Mary Ellsberg (Program for Appropriate Technology in Health (PATH))
Rodolfo Peña (Centro de Investigación de Demografía y Salud, National Autonomous University of Nicaragua)
Get Involved
- Make a contribution to the Population Council
- Honor a loved one with a gift in their name
- Sign up to receive e-mail announcements
Connect
