‘I heard about this study on the radio’: using community radio to strengthen Good Participatory Practice in HIV prevention trials

Abstract

BackgroundDuring the Microbicides Development Program (MDP) 301, a clinical trial of a candidate microbicide amongst women in Johannesburg, South Africa, we used community radio to promote awareness of the trial, to inform community members about specific medical research procedures and terminologies, and to stimulate dialogue between researchers and local citizens.MethodsWe used mixed methods to undertake a retrospective analysis of the social responses to the radio shows, focusing specifically on recruitment and participation in the MDP301 trial. We collected quantitative data that describes the themes and listener responses, the costs per broadcast, and the impact of the radio broadcasts on trial recruitment. Qualitative data on local reactions to the shows was gleaned from in-depth interviews with trial participants.ResultsOver a seven-year period, 205 individual broadcasts were made on two separate community radio stations. Show themes were either specifically related to medical research issues (36%), or focused on general health issues (46%), and sexual and reproductive health, including HIV prevention (18%). 403 listeners made telephone calls to the radio station, and 12% of women enrolled as participants in MDP301 (n = 9, 385) reported that they had first heard about the trial from the radio. Qualitative interviews (n = 401) with female MDP301 participants highlighted the effects of the radio shows in making women aware of the trial, impressing them with the importance of health screening and knowledge, legitimizing trial participation, and stimulating dialogue between trial participants and their male partners.ConclusionsCommunity radio is a potent tool for raising awareness and local knowledge about medical research and, in addition to other methodologies, can be used to promote recruitment into clinical trials. We suggest that future HIV prevention trials consider an investment in community radio beyond recruitment advertisements that incorporates this into the broader community engagement plan as a key element of Good Participatory Practice in clinical trial settings.

Risk Communication and Ebola-Specific Knowledge and Behavior during 2014–2015 Outbreak, Sierra Leone

“…In 2013, Sierra Leone had a literacy rate of only 46% ( 25 ), which makes radio the preferred and most accessible source of information for a large part of the population (78% have access to radio) ( 26 ). Other studies have also reported the importance of radio in promoting knowledge in low-income settings ( 11 , 27 , 28 ). Nonetheless, the influence of radio on promoting protective behavior in these studies was not as strong ( 11 ) or did not have an association at all ( 28 ).…”

Stakeholder engagement to informHIVclinical trials: a systematic review of the evidence

“…In contrast, fewer studies conducted stakeholder engagement in middle‐ (30 studies; 27.8%) 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99, 100 and low‐income (nine studies; 8.3%) 101, 102, 103, 104, 105, 106, 107, 108, 109 countries. The location of stakeholder engagement could not be discerned in six studies (5.6%) 110, 111, 112, 113, 114, 115, and fifteen studies (13.9%) 16, 24, 116, 117, 118, 119, 120, 121, 122, 123, 124, 125, 126, 127, 128 conducted stakeholder engagement in multiple countries at different income levels.…”

Assessing the Social Media Maturity of a Community Radio Station: The Case of Rhodes Music Radio in South Africa

“…• raise awareness about health-related issues (Hlongwana, Zitha, Mabuza & Maharaj, 2011;Mawokomayi & Osunkunle, 2019;Medeossi, Stadler & Delany-Moretlwe, 2014). • inform and empower women (Fombad & Jiyane, 2019;Oduaran & Nelson, 2019).…”