PREVENT: CELL PHONE SOAP OPERAS TO DELIVER SAFE-SEX MESSAGE

A nurse educator at Rutger's University's College of Nursing is piloting a unique method of spreading the message of safe sex: cell phone soap operas. Yep, you heard right. According to an article by the Associated Press, the purpose is "to use short videos to go beyond pamphlets on safe sex and deliver the message to women who might otherwise tune it out."

The article goes on to explain that Rachel Jones developed this education campaign using professional actors and scripts based on focus groups with women in Newark and Jersey City. She filmed a series of 12 "soap opera vignettes" using a grant from a Healthcare Foundation of New Jersey. She also received a $2MM grant from the National Institutes of Health to test the effectiveness of the campaign.

Jones said, "Women who watched the first pilot were getting upset, angry, exacerbated.....Women really saw themselves in that video. We're really resonating with urban contemporary themes that we believe are relevant to women.......What we believe will happen is that knowledge alone is not effective at changing behaviors.. We believe that women in the community will so identify with heroines in the story their own behaviors will change as well."

Rachel Jones

Women in the federal study will watch the 20-minute episodes on their cell phones. Their risk-reduction behavior will be measured against a control group that will receive text messages urging condom use, but no video. A total of 250 women will participate.


The scripts feature "nitty gritty stories of risk and risk reduction" that women can identify with, she said, adding that cell phone viewing ensures privacy and offers the viewer the chance to watch again and again as desired.

Jones has dedicated her career to reducing HIV/AIDS among young, urban Black and Latina women, the two ethnic groups with the highest levels of infection. Part of her focus for this campaign is to hopefully change behavior among these groups of women.

"I had very bright, wonderful patients who would come to me again and again with sexually transmitted infections," she said. She said the women understood that they were being exposed to HIV/AIDS, sexually transmitted diseases and pregnancy, but engaged in unprotected sex anyway; even those who knew they weren't in monogamous relationships didn't insist their partners wear condoms."We have to normalize condom use," she said.

The plan is if the soap opera campaign is effective, Jones and her team will dedicate their efforts to mass distributing the DVDs with the soap opera videos. We look forward to positive results from the campaign. Should more women adopt the idea for consistent condom usage, that would drastically reduce the rate at which HIV is transmitted, especially among Black and Hispanic women.

For further information on this new campaign and a description of the actual soap opera, check out the full article: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28482386/

EDUCATE: HIV/AIDS & SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA

Of all the regions of the world impacted by HIV/AIDS, none has been more devastated by this crisis than Sub-Saharan Africa. This is the area of the African continent that lies south of the Sahara desert. Of the 33 million people living with HIV/AIDS around the world, 22 million are located in Sub-Saharan Africa. Furthermore, of the 15 million orphans who lost their parents to AIDS, 11.5 million live in that region. In 2007, 1.5 million persons died from AIDS-related causes. During that same year, 68% of the global 2.7 million new HIV infections occurred in that region.



Some of the countries hardest in sub-Saharan Africa include South Africa (5.7 million), Nigeria (2.6 million), Kenya (1.5-2.0 million), Mozambique (1.5 million), and Zimbabwe (1.3 million).

In looking at the primary methods of HIV transmission in sub-Saharan Africa, heterosexual intercourse remains the predominant method. In light of this fact, this region has also become home to the world's largest population of children living with HIV. Furthermore, in Demographic and Health Surveys in five African countries, 2/3 of the HIV-infected couples were found to be serodiscordant, meaning only one partner was infected. However, condom use was found to be rare in these couples. In fact, in Burkina Faso, one of the countries surveyed, 90% of the cohabiting couples said they DID NOT use condoms the last time they had sex.

Another mode of transmission that is an important factor is sex work, specifically in West Africa. 35% of female sex workers surveyed in 2006 in Mali were living with HIV. In Senegal and Burkina Faso, levels of infection exceeding 20% were documented among sex workers.

Staggering statistics like the above highlight the need for education and resources in this region. There are several organizations working to improve conditions in sub-Saharan Africa in regards to HIV/AIDS. With 22 million people living there with the disease, there is still plenty that can be done. Unfortunately, there will consistently be a need for funding, medication, counseling and education, and proper nutrition until we are able to get this pandemic under control.

Sources: AVERT, UNAIDS