Effects of a Nurse’s Support for the Adolescent-led HIV/AIDS Sexual Transmission Prevention Program using Social Media

Abstract

In 2019, 1.1 to 2.4 million adolescents between the ages of 10 and 19 were living with HIV worldwide. In Thailand, there were approximately 5,400 new HIV cases among children and adolescents between the ages of 10 to 19 as a result of unprotected sex. This study, using 2-group pretest-posttest and repeated measures quasi-experimental design, examined the effects of the nurse’s support for the adolescents-led HIV/AIDS sexual transmission prevention program using social media on behavioral intention and perceived effectiveness of HIV/AIDS preventive behaviors among adolescents with HIV/AIDS. The study was conducted from April 2016 to July 2017. Purposive sampling was performed to recruit 70 adolescents with HIV/AIDS. The data were collected before day 1 and after receiving the program on days 15 and 30. The program and questionnaires were validated by 3 experts. The reliabilities of the behavioral intentions and perceived effectiveness of HIV/AIDS preventive behaviors questionnaires were examined, yielding Cronbach’s alpha coefficients of 0.80 and 0.96 respectively. Data were analyzed using a Friedman-test, a Wilcoxon matched-pairs signed-rank test, and a Mann-Whitney U-test. Results revealed that there were significant differences in the overall mean ranks of behavioral intention and perceived effectiveness of HIV/AIDS preventive behaviors at the baseline, on days 15 and 30 in the experimental group (p < 0.001) whereas there were no significant differences in the control group (p > 0.05). There were significant differences in the mean ranks of behavioral intention and perceived effectiveness of HIV/AIDS preventive behaviors measured on days 15 and 30 between the control and experimental groups (p < 0.001). Thus, nurses implementing a social media program for adolescents with HIV/AIDS may have a significantly positive impact on sexual transmission prevention.