PCI Funds Research on Combating AIDS
The HIV/AIDS pandemic has left a
trail of illness and death for more than 20 years, but remarkably,
misinformation and misconceptions about its transmission and
prevention still remain.
In many parts of the world, people
believe that condom use actually causes AIDS. Some suspect
that HIV is conjured through witchcraft, while others believe
that certain types of people, like overweight people, are
responsible for spreading the virus.
Only reliable and accurate information
can battle these deadly myths. Two university professors,
Everett M. Rogers and Arvind Singhal, have collaborated on
a groundbreaking book, supported by PCI, that examines the
unique role communication can play in HIV/AIDS prevention,
care, support, and treatment.
 In
2001, the authors traveled to Brazil, India, Kenya, South
Africa, and Thailand, and spoke with hundreds of doctors,
program managers, clients and representatives from dozens
of HIV-prevention programs in order to glean best practices
and collect case studies. The resulting book, titled Combating
AIDS: Communication Strategies in Action, is designed
for scholars, policy makers, representatives of non-governmental
organizations (NGOs), researchers, and others interested in
communication and public health.
Hasn’t AIDS already generated
far more scholarship than other, similar topics? “It’s
not a new area,” says Prof. Singhal. “But we don’t
think there’s any book that systematically examines
the role of communication strategies in overcoming stigma,
setting the public and policy agenda for AIDS, targeting vulnerable
groups, and having an impact on cultural elements that influence
AIDS. Our unique contribution is that we looked at best practices
in a variety of ways not readily available to most researchers.
We are advocates for the role of communication.”
According to Prof. Rogers, “Many
communication programs are led by medical doctors, who certainly
know all about the virus and its effects on the human body,
but may be ill prepared for managing communication about the
virus.”
 The
authors point out that HIV/AIDS prevention programs are everywhere
these days. Indeed, there are hundreds of such programs in
most large cities, and thousands in most countries. And outreach
workers and counselors, many of whom are themselves HIV-positive,
are on the front line of the war against AIDS. But Prof. Singhal
states that additional lives could be saved if programs would
employ “communication strategies for changing behavior
of individuals, communities, and social systems.”
The book contains many examples.
Thailand has achieved a spectacular success in combating the
epidemic. Following years of denial, the Thai government finally
launched an all-out AIDS Control Program in 1991. A dynamic
technocrat, Mechai Viravaidya, was appointed as a cabinet
minister and led the campaign. Minister Mechai began by working
to destigmatize the use of condoms by leading condom-blowing
contests, holding “Condom Nights” in the Patpong
red-light district, and urging denizens of bars and clubs
to practice safer sex.
To purchase a copy of Combating
Aids click here to go to Sage Publications Web Site http://www.sagepub.co.uk/book.aspx?pid=104601
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