Community health radio programs provide a unique way to introduce an audience to information about how to avoid getting infected by HIV/AIDS. A community health radio program can bring information about how to prevent HIV/AIDS infections, which would otherwise be inaccessible, especially in rural areas of developing nations, where communities are scattered and resources are limited. In Zambia, 16% of the population is infected with HIV/AIDS and 50% of the population is not within normal walking distance of a community clinic or hospital. This makes it impossible to do diagnostics at the point of care, increasing the already important role preventative treatment plays in combating HIV/AIDS. In Zambia, John’s Hopkins University helped to develop and implement a 26-week, 30 min session radio distance-learning program to train health workers to address HIV/AIDS in their communities. The researchers went to the various scattered communities in Zambia and organized Neighborhood Health Committees (NHC). These NHCs were responsible to listen to the radio distance learning scripts, in order to be equipped to address HIV/AIDS in their communities. The program was extremely successful; it supported community mobilization and helped provide scattered communities with access to preventive HIV/AIDS treatment. The results of this effort could have been improved if the NHCs were connected to centralized clinics and hospitals for support and advice.
Soap operas are another method of introducing information about HIV/AIDS prevention through the community health radio. In Rwanda, “Uranana,” which means “hand in hand” is a popular radio soap opera that addresses women’s health issues and HIV/AIDS. HIV/AIDS prevention information pertaining to abstinence, being faithful, and condomising, is introduced in conjunction with dramatic plots and thrilling cliff -hangers. The content of these dramatic productions is often audience-led. The themes used in Uranana were developed after researchers asked about the critical health issues that locals were interested in learning about. HIV/AIDS was consistently listed as a concern. In Rwanda, for every one television, there are 101 radios. The dominance of radio, as the primary mode of communication, allows soap operas to have a wide reaching affect, informing many people about how to avoid contracting HIV/AIDS. These soap operas overcome problems of illiteracy. In Rwanda, a 1996 study by the government showed that there was an illiteracy rate of 48.3%. This is a gendered issue, because of that 48.3%, 68% are women. Soap operas that address women’s health issues and HIV/AIDS are especially powerful, because they incorporate women into a dialogue about HIV/AIDS. Women, who would not otherwise be able to get information about HIV/AIDS from a book, can now gain access to information about preventative treatment.
Another way community health radio disseminates information about HIV/AIDS prevention is through public service health campaigns. Simple catchy phrases like “take the test, take control,” have been used to remind young people to inform themselves about HIV/AIDS. These public health campaigns push the use of protection, using background sounds such as a baby crying, to illustrate the consequences of having unprotected sex. These public health campaigns have encouraged HIV/AIDS testing, wearing a condom, and being faithful. They’re not only used in developing nations, they’re also used on MTV and BET, two channels that attract a wide teen and young adult audience in the United States.
References
Booth, Isobel. “Radio soap for health education: lessons learnt by Health Unlimited Rwanda 1997-2003.” Health Unlimited (2003): n. pag. Print.
Serlemitsos, E. A., U. Bharath-Kumar, J. A. Nyambe, B. Mukwatu, and R. E. Carty. “Building community mobilisation skills at scale: The synergy of radio distance learning and the roll-out of a national curriculum for health workers in Zambia.” Proc. of International Conference on AIDS, Thailand, Bangkok. N.p.: n.p., n.d. N. pag. Print.
Skuse, Andrew. Radio Broadcasting for Health: An Issues Paper. Issue brief. N.p.: Department for International Development, 2004. Print.