Know Her, Know Him: Exploring Health Communication Campaigns to Combat HIV/AIDS - Research Paper

Introduction

Due to the increasing rates of HIV/AIDS prevalence over time, I will like to explore the "Know Her, Know Him Health Communication Campaign" that will be the subject of my discussion. The campaign is informed of the sickness, fear, and death that are brought by this disease. According to Saloojee & Cooper, such campaigns help people living with HIV to live longer and healthier (2015). They also provide information to the victims on practices such as circumcision that not only improves one's hygienic status but also reduces the prevalence among circumcised communities (International AIDS Society, 2015).

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Contextual Issues That Might Influence How the Phenomenon is Studied

Among the contextual issue that influences the Know Her, Know Him Health Communication Campaign is its similarity with the Save a Life Global which is a non-governmental organization that research focused at improving communication (Zeglin & Stein, 2015). The multidisciplinary research institution also focuses on fit behavior and making choices concerning HIV/AIDS. In this health campaign, we will promote communication that is based on the slogan 'Know Him' and 'Know Her.' Through this campaign, people will be encouraged to know their HIV status and help others understand the importance of HIV testing. This way, the infected community will stop spreading the disease to new more people while the HIV negative population will take the necessary precautions to avoid contracting the virus.

Settings in Which the Topics Can be Explored

This health communication promotion campaign can be explored in various contexts. For instance, the campaign can be directed towards sensitizing African Americans on the importance of knowing their HIV status (Zadnik, 2018). Similarly, Save A Life International can work with the local health service providers in Houston, Atlanta, Utah, Chicago, and St. Louis in the US. The medical institutions in the named areas will play a role in helping the citizens know their status as well as the threats and challenges that awaits them (Miedema, Maxwell & Aggleton, 2015).

My Connection to the Topic and Its Importance

My connection to this topic is based on the age in which this disease is more prevalent; that is between the ages of 12 to 44 years (Penalva, 2015). The majority of people within this age are the youth where I belong. Therefore it matters to me to be concerned about issues affecting my age mates. Most of the victims are young adolescent girls and boys living in slum areas. Prostitutes, gays, and lesbians are also a subject of discussion since they are affected or infected, too (Drah & Smithsonian Libraries, 2015). The "Know her, Know Him" will target these groups of people because they are the most affected due to the following reasons. They are subjected to sexual intercourse regularly; hence, they have a higher chance of contracting sexually transmitted diseases. For instance, prostitutes indulge in sexual activity daily with different people, and if they are not well informed, they may contribute immensely to the spread of HIV. Another reason is that most of the population in these settings are semi-illiterate and may not be well versed on taking safety precautions and the consequences of contracting the virus (Champion, 2008). The campaign shall also spread to all inhabitants of the United States since the disease is not biased, and everyone is threatened to be infected or affected.

This campaign promotes qualitative learning, and by being categorized among the health education programs, its approach must be perfect for ensuring excellent results. Focusing on the project's intention, fitness campaigns are a part of the program. Formulation effective representation and communication on the details of the campaign is also necessary. Therefore the plan is to devise mechanisms in which this health promotion program can be implemented to sensitize citizens on matters concerning HIV/AIDS and carry out tests for married couples, sexual partners and individuals (Van, Hanass-Hancock & Myezwa, 2015). The "Know Her, Know Him" campaign shall implement the Belief Fitness model that compels citizens to give information regarding their illnesses. This Health Belief Model is a psychological presentation that predicts and explains fitness behaviors. The model is appropriate since HIV/AIDS is one of the diseases such as cancer, which may be triggered by inappropriate lifestyles (Pheage & United Nations, 2017). Some people believe cursed, and they label people living with HIV/AIDS and cancer as cursed. Therefore apart from the fitness belief model, we shall explain how AIDS comes to existence to help the infected and affected citizens to co-exist with other members of society.

The Possibilities That This Research Results Will Have On Social Change

The possibilities that this research's results have on social change include the understanding that HIV/AIDS is not biased and can affect any society. This communication campaign will encourage all citizens, especially the Hispanic and the Latinos, to talk about the disease openly and encourage testing to find out their status. This discussion will encourage the infected individuals and prevent them from stigma and also unknowingly infection other people. The promotion also will take over the online platforms to sensitize citizens on precautions to take in staying safe (Fox & Collins, 2017). Equally, we shall campaign against stigmatization since it prevents opening up from discussing this pandemic publicly. Advertisements will be done on Facebook, and the "Save a Life International" website for citizens to download and share.

References

Drah, B. B., & Smithsonian Libraries. (2015). Of 'prostitutes' and 'AIDS people': Feminization of HIV and AIDS in south-eastern Ghana. Contemporary Journal of African Studies, 3, 1-38.

Fox, J., & Collins, S. (2017). HIV prevention. Aids, 31(9).

International AIDS Society. (2015). AIDS research and human retroviruses. Progress towards an HIV cure: Update from the 2014 International AIDS Society symposium 31, 1.

Miedema, E., Maxwell, C., & Aggleton, P. (2015). The unfinished nature of rights-informed HIV- and AIDS-related education: an analysis of three school-based initiatives. Sex Education, 15, 1, 78-92.

Penalva, O. A. (2015). HIV. Journal of the Neurological Sciences, 357.

Pheage, T., & United Nations. (2017). Dying from lack of medicines. (Africa Renewal, 30, 3, 24-25.)

Saloojee, H., & Cooper, P. (2015). HIV and AIDS. World Review of Nutrition and Dietetics, 113, 173-177.

Van, E. L., Hanass-Hancock, J., & Myezwa, H. (2015). HIV-related disabilities: an extra burdento HIV and AIDS healthcare workers?. African Journal of Aids Research, 14, 3, 285-294.

Zadnik, V. (2018). Global, regional, and national age-sex-specific mortality and life expectancy, 1950-2017: A systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2017. The Lancet, 392, 10159, 1684-1735.

Zeglin, R. J., & Stein, J. P. (2015). Social determinants of health predict state incidence of HIV and AIDS: a short report. Aids Care, 27, 2, 255-9.