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HIV Testing Among Young People Aged 16–24 in South Africa: Impact of Mass Media Communication Programs

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Abstract

Knowing one’s serostatus is critical in the HIV prevention, care and treatment continuum. This study examines the impact of communication programs on HIV testing in South Africa. Data came from 2204 young men and women aged 16–24 who reported to be sexually active in a population based survey. Structural equation modeling was used to test the directions and causal pathways between communication program exposure, HIV testing discussion, and having a test in the last 12 months. Bivariate and multivariate probit regressions provided evidence of exogeneity of communication exposure and the two HIV-related outcomes. One in three sampled individuals had been tested in the last 12 months. Communication program exposure only had an indirect effect on getting tested by encouraging young people to talk about testing. The study suggests that communication programs may create an environment that supports open HIV-related discussions and may have a long-term impact on behavior change.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to acknowledge the support of the U.S. Agency for International Development for financial assistance and support for the programs described in this paper. Special thanks to the Center for Communication Impact (CCI), formerly Johns Hopkins Health and Education in South Africa (JHHESA), for sharing its experiences and insights about implementing the campaign. We also would like to acknowledge the leadership and contribution of JHHESA’s director at that time, Patrick Coleman. Thanks also to the many partners who generously gave their time: CADRE, Mat©hboxology, Levi’s®, Mediology, DramAidE, Lighthouse Foundation, and the Western Cape Department of Health. Finally, thanks to Timothy Mah (USAID/Washington, DC), the General Population and Youth HIV Prevention Technical Working Group, and to Wendy Benzerga and Nellie Gqwaru (USAID/South Africa) for their assistance.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Global Community Health and Behavioral Sciences, Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, 1440 Canal Street, New Orleans, LA, 70112, USA

    Mai Do

  2. Johns Hopkins University Center for Communication Programs, 111 Market Place, Suite 310, Baltimore, MD, 21202, USA

    Maria Elena Figueroa & D. Lawrence Kincaid

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  1. Mai Do
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  2. Maria Elena Figueroa
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  3. D. Lawrence Kincaid
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Correspondence to Mai Do.

Appendix 1

Appendix 1

See Table 3.

Table 3 Measurement of exposure: Recognition and recall of 11 HIV-related communication programs in South Africa
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Do, M., Figueroa, M.E. & Lawrence Kincaid, D. HIV Testing Among Young People Aged 16–24 in South Africa: Impact of Mass Media Communication Programs. AIDS Behav 20, 2033–2044 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10461-016-1402-1

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