HIV/AIDS communication in four Nigerian mainstream newspapers

Onjefu Okidu

doi:10.11604/pamjs.supp.2014.17.1.3672

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: One consensus in discussions on HIV/AIDS communication in low and middle income countries (LMICs) is the need for communication models to focus on activity rather than cognitive indicators in order to achieve desired improvements in health behaviors and outcomes. Past failures of HIV/AIDS communication efforts in LMICs have been attributed to emphasis on cognitive indicators. This study analyses HIV/AIDS communication models in Nigerian newspapers. METHODS: Data were obtained through analysis of manifest content of four Nigerian papers issued between 2002 and 2004. Frequency, prominence and space dedicated to HIV/AIDS-related topics were measured. Descriptive statistics were used to highlight the frequency and percentage of cognitive- and activity-oriented information on HIV/AIDS. RESULTS: A total of 464 HIV/AIDS-related articles were identified. Fifty-nine percent (274) of articles were activity-oriented. Over half of articles were news stories. No news story made front and back pages lead. There were only nine editorials on HIV/AIDS. CONCLUSION: This study shows that the activity model of HIV/AIDS communication dominates the four Nigerian mainstream newspapers studied. However, it is worth noting the limited number of editorials and feature articles, which have the capacity to stimulate debate and foster a social environment in which AIDS is addressed in a spirit of openness. For a country that has the third largest number of people living with HIV/AIDS globally, one would expect the mass media to deliberately play an instrumental and a more active role in the battle against the disease by engaging in in-depth contextual discourse on HIV/AIDS.

Highlights

One consensus in discussions on HIV/AIDS communication in low and middle income countries (LMICs) is the need for communication models to focus on activity rather than cognitive indicators in order to achieve desired improvements in health behaviors and outcomes
Current thought in HIV/AIDS communication in low and middle income countries foregrounds the need to move beyond the cognitive approach to the activity approach [1].Cognitive models of behaviour change communication like the Health Belief Model, the Theory of Reasoned Action, Social Learning Theory, and the AIDs Risk Reduction Model (ARRM), which dominated the first decade of social science research on HIV/AIDS, assume that individual reason provides the impetus for human action [2].The models seek to interpret and analyze health behaviours at the individual level
New Nigerian recorded the highest column centimeters with regards to HIV/AIDS information space, 6771.9 (30%); The Punch, 6023.6 (27%); Daily Trust, 5263.5 (24%) and The Guardian, 4234.8 (19%).The total number of HIV/AIDS activityoriented information published by the four Nigerian newspapers was more than the total number of HIV/AIDS cognitive-oriented information during the period studied

Summary

Introduction

One consensus in discussions on HIV/AIDS communication in low and middle income countries (LMICs) is the need for communication models to focus on activity rather than cognitive indicators in order to achieve desired improvements in health behaviors and outcomes. HIV/AIDS cognitive information refers to information about HIV/AIDS that focuses on individual self-efficacy and emphasizes the simple, linear relationship between individual knowledge and action [3].The activity model of behaviour change communication derives from the activity theory. This model views behavioral outcome as a product of the individual’s context and argues that human activity is complex and socially-bound and driven and not the sum of individual actions [4]. The importance of a nationally-driven agenda in lowering incidence and mitigating the impact of HIV/AIDS in low and middle income countries was not lost on Nigeria which, in 2001,launched a multi-sectoral and communitybased response to the epidemic, exemplified in the HIV/AIDS Emergency Action Plan (HEAP;2001-2004) and the National Strategic Framework (NSF; 2005-2009)

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Discussion

Conclusion