An Exploration of the Communicative Efficacy of HIV/AIDS IEC Materials Among Secondary School Teenagers in Harare

Abstract

The aim of this contribution is to determine the communicative efficacy of selected print-based HIV and AIDS information education and communication (IEC) materials (posters, leaflets and brochures) among secondary school teenagers (13–19 years) in Harare. Data were collected over a period of 2 months from six schools, selected using multistage cluster sampling. It incorporated use of a self-administered questionnaire involving a sample of 750 teenagers, and 6 focus group discussions (FGDs), each comprised of 10 purposefully sampled participants. The survey investigated a number of indicators of communicative efficacy, wherein the IEC materials were found to be clear by 38.4 per cent (n = 288), informative by 45.2 per cent (n = 339), credible by 80.5 per cent (n = 604), appealing by 64.7 per cent (n = 485), important by 69.5 per cent (n = 521) and acceptable by 54 per cent (n = 405) of the respondents. The outcomes of the FGDs showed that, although HIV and AIDS IECs were generally believed to be appealing and to significantly increase awareness among teenagers, these were also considered somewhat unclear and inaccessible. Moreover, perceptions were strongly inclined towards use of Shona language, social media and elimination of fear appeals in HIV information. Thus, in addition to adopting young people-centred communication modes, finding an appropriate balance between complex language and efficacy of HIV prevention messages is imperative.