46 information on how to develop appropriate communication strategies that enhanced
development of quality IEC materials. For instance, they did not include information about how students acquired their knowledge, what they liked and did not like about the mode of teaching that was used, or the channel(s) of communication that were used for them to acquire knowledge. Hence, this study aimed to discover the preferences of young adults about the mode of teaching that is used, or the channel(s) of communication that are used in HIV prevention interventions with the aim to produce data that will inform policymakers and print IEC materials producers so that they can improve on future HIV education.
There were some studies that confirmed or supported these substantive findings, even though they were not specifically targeted at youth or young adults. These studies included ones that inspected the receptiveness and effectiveness of IEC materials used to curtail the spread of HIV (for example Onyene et al., 2010; Rawjee, 2003; Marschall, 2003 as well as Preece and Ntseane, 2003).
47 indicate that these tools were said to have been used over the years by the government, non- governmental organizations and private agencies to either create awareness or to follow up the management of campaigns (Onyene et al., 2010: 82). Based on the results, which, among other findings suggested that the prevailing tools were failing to create the desired level of HIV awareness, these researchers ought to have made a special tool for their study, which would have helped verify their hypotheses.
Rawjee (2003) had undertaken an earlier similar study in 2003 in Kwazulu-Natal, South Africa. Rawjee investigated the effectiveness of HIV/AIDS communication planning for HIV/AIDS awareness campaigns, which included the use of different communication tools, while Onyene and colleagues investigated the effectiveness of HIV/AIDS sensitization tools (communication tools) used for awareness campaigns. Both studies targeted youth and young adults at institutions of higher learning.
Rawjee (2003) sought to find out whether education and behavioural change occurred after the implementation of a plan that was formulated by the life skills counsellor and the Director of Student Counselling of the ML Sultan Technikon. The plan aimed to bring about positive behavioural change in the Technikon community with regard to sexual practices, to minimize and prevent the occurrence of new HIV infections, to provide support for those already infected and to manage and reduce discrimination towards those infected by providing information. It was divided into four service providing components, namely, preventive or educational services, counseling services, health care services and developmental services. For the purposes of this study, only the preventive or educational service component was explored as the only component directly related to this investigation. This component was of
professional interest to me as an adult educator and a health educator, because I deemed education to be the backbone of the ML Sultan Technikon campaign, the success of the other three services that were involved in the plan all depending on it.
Rawjee (2003: 238) used elements of social marketing theory (product, price, place, promotion and positioning) to create a participatory communication tool. Time and energy that the planners invested in the planning were referred to as: price, place, promotion and
48 positioning. Place referred to the place where the services were offered; in this case services were offered at ML Sultan Technikon’s Student Counselling Center. The concept of
promotion in this study referred to the various promotional activities planned, and positioning referred to the students’ existing knowledge of HIV/AIDS. Like Bhagwan and Singh (1999), who advocated for inclusivity of beneficiaries to enhance participation, ownership,
empowerment and commitment, Rawjee (2003: 245) upheld that the success of any
communication campaign plan depended on the inclusiveness of the beneficiaries in all stages of the campaign, starting from the planning stage so that planners would be able to establish where the beneficiaries were in relation to their knowledge, beliefs, fears and hopes, attitudes and practices.
The findings revealed that the ML Sultan Technikon’s HIV/AIDS awareness campaign had managed to capture the attention of youth and to increase their knowledge levels on
HIV/AIDS. Apparently, the education they gained from participating in the planning stage of the campaign influenced their beliefs and attitudes about sexuality and responsible behaviour.
Rawjee (2003: 246) concluded that participatory communication planning constituted the basis for successful HIV/AIDS education programmes, because it not only allowed the recipients of the message(s) to participate in the formulation of the message(s), but also gave them the opportunity to decide on what they wanted. This case study further demonstrated that the system of dialogical education allowed people to look upon their lives with resilience, as the discussions helped them realise their problems and enabled them to examine future prospects for change and growth. In addition, this approach seemed to have the ability to equip people with the power to stand up against challenges posed by HIV/AIDS, since all those involved in the planning acquired a lot of information (UNFPA15, Myanmar, 2003) during the process. Participating in research projects also seemed to have the ability to equip people with new knowledge, new skills and change of attitudes, because it considers and realises the joint effort as a condition (Skidmore, 2004) for the attainment of the full growth of each person in the knowledge of the discussed topic. The United Nations Population Fund
15 United Nations Population Fund
49 (UNFPA, Myanmar, 2003: 23) indicated that involving people in the “planning of
communication campaigns” not only helped equip them with knowledge, but it also showed respect for target audiences and enhanced their ownership of such campaigns. Right timing was identified as important for these kinds of interventions (UNFPA, Myanmar, 2003: 28-29), since the success of subsequent interventions depended on whether initial interventions had succeeded in building acceptance and support for the issues being taught to target audiences.
For these reasons, the study aspired to identify the degree to which youth and young adults were involved in the development of print IEC materials that are used to prevent HIV.
One other study which dealt with the characteristics and development of IEC materials for HIV and AIDS prevention, specifically looked at visual imagery in an effort to learn how safe sex messages were conveyed to promote AIDS awareness. However, Onyene and colleagues, including Rawjee, did not look into the sensitiveness of the sex-related messages, particularly in regard to such aspects as cultural sensitivity.
In 2003, Marschall analysed the iconography (use of images or symbols in visual arts) that was employed by mural artists in the 1990s in South Africa. These murals were drawn by individuals, schools or non-governmental organizations and were sponsored by AIDS awareness organizations, the Department of Health and the private sector. The murals were classified into two distinct categories representing different preventive paradigms. One
paradigm was classified as motivational. Murals under this paradigm were meant to encourage people to think positively about the epidemic, or plan for the future, despite its fierce
consequences. Other murals which reflected the shocking reality about the effects of the epidemic were meant to stir up fear in people, in the hope that they would fear, for instance, risky behaviour such as engaging with multiple concurrent sexual partners. Both paradigms used text and images.
Marschall (2003) noted that only images or pictures were initially used to promote AIDS awareness until the beginning of the new millennium (the year 2000) when a prominent red
50 ribbon symbolizing AIDS16 could be seen on all AIDS-related materials. This ribbon was meant to help people easily spot HIV/AIDS related murals. Some HIV/AIDS activists in the United States, where this ribbon originated, objected to the way the ribbon was used in many countries, arguing that it was going to lose value and meaning. The implication here is that the ribbon would lose its ability to raise awareness, if it is placed everywhere or ubiquitous, as if people aimed to make a profit out of it. Marschall (2003) discovered that, in contrast, South Africans perceived the extensive use of the symbol as necessary, with the assumption that it would facilitate easy identification and use of HIV/AIDS related materials since talking about AIDS issues was still a taboo amongst many. Marschall (2003) concluded that the majority of these murals were successful in defining HIV/AIDS issues to communities.
Some action research studies have specifically designed materials in response to research findings. One such example is a project undertaken in Botswana in 2003, where Preece and Ntseane conducted an action research project to analyse the HIV/AIDS prevention strategies used at workplaces in Botswana. Their study particularly scrutinized the way in which IEC materials were developed for these workplace interventions. Its strategies drew on adult education theoretical and pedagogical perspectives and used Focus Group Discussions (FGDs). Data from these discussions and dialogues formed the basis for designing the communication strategies and development of IEC materials.
The results highlighted that existing materials did not seem to take into account cultural issues and educational strategies tended to be top-down lectures rather than providing opportunities for discussion among workers. So the researchers chose to use the FGDs as a source for their IEC materials. Preece and Ntseane (2003: 234) suggested that for HIV/AIDS preventive strategies to bring about the desired change, the group discussions and dialogues should be conducted in such a way that they would consider cultural concerns and stimulate awareness of the contradictions that may be obscured by cultural discourse. At the same time the strategies should encourage new thinking but within familiar contexts, because new
16
51 knowledge and awareness are brought about according to the stage at which people are in relation to the desired change. They also suggested that the educator’s role must be that of a facilitator, so as to allow people to re-position themselves within the frameworks of the
knowledge that they may already have and in order for the participants to make connections to new knowledge. Furthermore, they recommended that this must be a continuous process, as people reach new understandings at a different pace from one another.
Although these studies all dealt with the characteristics and development of IEC materials for HIV and AIDS prevention, only two (Onyene et al., 2010 and Preece and Ntseane, 2003) were undertaken for the purposes of generating information for the development of IEC materials.
Like Preece and Ntseane (2003), who encouraged the inclusion of targeted audiences through discussions and dialogues, Rawjee (2003) advocated for participatory communication so that IEC materials producers could establish where beneficiaries of HIV messages are in relation to their knowledge, beliefs, fears, hopes, attitudes and practices. Similarly, Marschall (2003) pointed to the importance of knowing the targeted audiences, as knowledge of some of the realities that these audiences have about HIV and AIDS could be used to stir up fear in them so that they conform to the desired change accordingly.
Apart from this literature that relates to this study, literature on the characteristics of IEC materials was also reviewed as a preface to the theoretical framework, starting with the concept of communication, because IEC materials are a means of communication.