Mobile telephony in information dissemination on HIV and aids prevention and care among the Kenyan youth.

Abstract

According to Kenya's National AIDS Control Council Sentinel Surveillance Survey (2006), youth aged between 15 and 24 years account for more than half of all new HIV incidences every year. The report attributes this vulnerability of the youth to physical, emotional and social dynamics of the society. However, more importantly, it emphasizes that the youth often lack information about HIV and AIDS. This situation is baffling especially when consideration is made of the massive HIV and AIDS awareness campaigns and the magnitude of resources invested therein. It is emerging that what appears to be HIV and AIDS awareness and information dissemination is not achieving its full potential with regards to the youth and HIV transmission. Again, it is emerging that the youth are bombarded with a lot of information, but this does not necessarily mean that people talk to them and with regard to their questions and concerns. In addition, the youth have limited access to appropriate clinical and non-clinical services due to social and cultural barriers since in most communities in Kenya issues relating to sexuality are still treated as taboo particularly in light of parent - child relationships . This study began from the hypothesis that the glaring disparity between the amounts of messages released and the concomitant social behavioural change lies not necessarily in the content but rather in the medium of communication. For the society to continue registering high HIV infection rates in the full glare of a wide range of communication channels including mass media (print and electronic) interpersonal communication (through peer education, counseling, healthcare providers etc), community media (theater, sports, outreach events) print and collateral (brochures, posters, T-shirts, caps) and other communication. products, the only explanation for this variance is the effectiveness of that communication. In this sense the study sought to examine in depth the interplay between communication and messaging, between ownership of the awareness drive and passive receipt of unidirectional instructions. It aimed at investigating how mobile telephony as a more personalized and integrated strategy for youth can support information dissemination on key public health challenges including HIV and AIDS among the Kenyan youth. The study also examined the change in knowledge among the same group of young people two years after the execution of the eQuest contest. Data was analysed qualitatively through in-depth descriptions and quantitatively through basic statistics such as correlations and cross tabulations. A key finding of the study is that even though the eQuest contest exposed the participants to a broad spectrum of information regarding HIV and AIDS prevention and care, the information retention and memory recall was primarily conditioned by the real or perceived utility of the information and the immediacy of its use. The study concludes that the choice of media however appropriate is by no means the most important factor in effective communication. Instead, target audiences react to and rationally prioritise the internalisation of any piece of communication whichever the strategy or medium.