HIV theatre in health education: an evaluation of Someone Like You

Abstract

This paper presents part of the findings of an evaluation study which measured the impact of Someone Like You, a theatre in HIV and AIDS education programme, devised for schoolchildren. The programme toured 16 schools in Nottinghamshire in 1994. A survey by self-completed questionnaire was used to gain insight into the teachers' perceptions of the educational value of the programme and to assess the effectiveness of its implementation. The principal findings indicate that the programme was highly acceptable to teachers in terms of content and process. However, an examination of the effectiveness of the implementation of the project suggests that there was some scope for improvement. Recommendations are made for health authority purchasers and providers to maximise the potential of theatre in education on HIV and AIDS to influence both the development of school policies and the quality and quantity of teaching about HIV and AIDS in the classroom.