Condoms are an essential component of comprehensive efforts to control the HIV epidemic, both for those who know their status and for those who do not. Although young people account for almost half of all new HIV infections, reported condom use among them remains low in many sub-Saharan African countries. In order to inform education and communication efforts to increase condom use, we examined social representations of condoms among young people aged 10–24 in six African countries/regions with diverse HIV prevalence rates: Swaziland, Namibia, Kenya, South-East Nigeria, Burkina Faso, and Senegal. We used a unique data source, namely 11,354 creative ideas contributed from these countries to a continent-wide scriptwriting contest, held from 1st February to 15th April 2005, on the theme of HIV/AIDS. We stratified each country sample by the sex, age (10–14, 15–19, 20–24), and urban/rural location of the author and randomly selected up to 10 narratives for each of the 12 resulting strata, netting a total sample of 586 texts for the six countries. We analyzed the narratives qualitatively using thematic data analysis and narrative-based methodologies. Differences were observed across settings in the prominence accorded to condoms, the assessment of their effectiveness, and certain barriers to and facilitators of their use. Moralization emerged as a key impediment to positive representations of condoms, while humour was an appealing means to normalize them. The social representations in the narratives identify communication needs in and across settings and provide youth-focused ideas and perspectives to inform future intervention efforts.
HIV-related symbolic stigma arises from moralistic value judgements attached to people living with HIV and has negative consequences from both public health and human rights perspectives. Relatively little is known about cross-national variation in symbolic stigma. With the purpose of informing stigma reduction efforts within and across settings, we compared social representations of HIV in six African countries with estimated adult HIV prevalence rates ranging from 1 to 33%. Our study used a unique data source, namely a stratified random sample (n=586, ~5%) from 11,354 creative ideas contributed from six countries to a continent-wide HIV-related scriptwriting contest held between February and April2005. The narratives were written by equal numbers of males and females aged 10–24 in urban and rural areas of Swaziland, Namibia, Kenya, South-East Nigeria, Burkina Faso and Senegal. We combined three analytical approaches: descriptive statistics on certain quantifiable characteristics of the narratives, thematic data analysis, and a narrative-based approach. The association of HIV with outsiders (“othering”)and preoccupation with the circumstances of infection are more common in lower prevalence countries but vary substantially in tone depending on the sociocultural context. The highest proportion both of moralising narratives and of narratives with pessimistic outcomes come from South-East Nigeria and, to a lesser extent, from Kenya, countries with prevalence levels of 3.9 and 6.1% respectively, in which evangelical Christian movements, including Pentecostalism, have sizeable followings. The data provide a rare cross-cultural overview of symbolic stigma, identify country-specific needs, and point to strategies for future programming. Social representations from the highest prevalence countries, Swaziland and Namibia, and from lower prevalence Burkina Faso offer potential models for the framing of HIV in ways that serve to increase social proximity and counteract symbolic stigma.
Despite the prominence of abstinence promotion in HIV prevention for young Africans, there is little documentation concerning its reception and interpretation. With the purpose of informing programmatic practice, we examined how young Africans from six countries with contrasting HIV prevalence rates make sense of abstinence. ‘Scenarios from Africa’ scriptwriting contests invite young people to contribute ideas for short films about HIV. Using thematic narrative-based approaches, we analyzed a stratified random sample of 586 (~5%) of these narratives written in 2005 by young women and men aged 10–24 years from Senegal, Burkina Faso, South-East Nigeria, Kenya, Namibia and Swaziland. Abstinence was considerably more prominent as a theme in the samples from SE Nigeria, Kenya and Swaziland. It was articulated in relation to conservative Christian sexual morality and in opposition to condom use with particular intensity in SE Nigeria, with stigmatising implications for non-abstainers. However, cross-national commonalities were more striking than differences. Examples of non-stigmatising pro-abstinence messaging highlighted the appeal of discourses of romantic love and future plans across countries and demographic characteristics. The analysis yielded contextual understanding, youth-driven ideas, and recommendations to inform comprehensive HIV prevention efforts.
HIV testing and counselling is a critical intervention to support treatment access and prevent new infections. Despite high rates of infection, few young Africans know their HIV status. With the aim of informing initiatives that encourage HIV testing and access to testing benefits, this study seeks to understand how young Africans make sense of HIV testing. We conducted thematic narrative-based analysis of a stratified random sample (n=586, ~5%) from 11,354 narratives written in 2005 by males and females aged 10-24 from 6 sub-Saharan African countries for the ‘Scenarios from Africa’ scriptwriting contest which invites young people to contribute ideas for short films about HIV. The factors represented by the young authors as influencing testing behaviour and outcomes are complex and interactive, indicating that interventions that are not contextually appropriate are unlikely to effect a shift towards increased testing or improved post-testing outcomes. The narratives point to opportunities to increase HIV testing in this demographic.
In addition to undermining the quality of life of those infected and affected by HIV, HIV-related stigma impedes access to prevention and treatment services, thereby threatening to erode the promise of recent advances in these areas. This paper provides insights into the socio-contextual and sense-making processes that inform HIV stigma through an innovative form of empirical data: creative fictional narratives written by young Africans (aged 10–24) for an HIV-themed scriptwriting competition. From a sample of 586 narratives from six sub-Saharan countries, we selected for illustrative purposes three on account of the complexity of their representation of HIV stigma. We conducted a close reading of each, using stigma theory as a lens. Through their explicit accounts of stigmatizing attitudes and behaviours of characters and through implicit contradictions, tensions, and ambivalence in their messaging, the narratives provides insights into the symbolic and social processes that create and sustain HIV stigma. Our analysis illuminates the authors’ struggles to navigate the cultural resources available to them in their efforts to make sense of HIV, gender and sexuality. It highlights some limitations of current communication efforts and the potential for narrative-based communication approaches to engage with representations that devalue women and people living with HIV.
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