Aim : Hiv/Aids perception among university students in Makerere Kikoni

Objectives

(i). To establish the level of HIV/AIDS awareness among university students in

Kikoni
(ii). To identify the sources for HIV/AIDS information among University students in
Kikoni
(iii). To describe the influence of information on the level of HIV/AIDS perception
among students in Kikoni.

Problem statement

1.1 Problem statement

The sub Saharan continent is home to more than 70% of all global HIV infections due lack of
awareness to those new infections (W.H.O, 2015).The epidemic threatens to reverse the hard
earned development gains in most countries with in the region. For Uganda in particular the HIV
and AIDs epidemic has escalated and potentially disrupts the way a person organizes and orders
his/her life and contributes to the disruption of the social fabric of families, communities and
entire nations (Bravo et al., 2010; Hosseinzadeh and Hossain, 2011; Machine et al., 2011) and
this has increased an enormous burden to the already resource poor health sector and further
constrained access to health care services.

According to the recent Uganda Population-Based HIV Impact Assessment results, the national
HIV prevalence is 6.2%. However, the HIV prevalence in central Uganda, where Kampala falls
is 5.7%. Besides, the prevalence of HIV among people aged 15-49 years is 6.0%, with 7.5% in
males and 4.3% in females. These figures suggest that students are increasingly contracting HIV
in the region (UPHIA, 2017)

HIV/AIDs prevalence among the youth especially university students aged 15-24 years in Kikoni
is 1.7% according to routine HIV since it’s an area near the town and the major university, this is
much higher than previous estimates of 1.1% (Newvision, 2018).Eextensive communications for
behavioral change especially among the university students such as those by Communication for
Healthy Communities (CHC) in Makerere university. Mutually reinforced by both electronic and
print media the campaigns have failed to yield forecasted results of sensitizing the masses
especially the students (WHO, 2015). To this effect, the perception and knowledge of students
on HIV transmission and prevention remains questionable.

Literature review

Introduction

HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, is one of the world’s most serious health threats this due to the
numerous deaths it cause according global estimates for adults and children in 2016 showed that
People living with HIV and AIDS were ( 38.9 million) ,New infections were ( 4.0 million) and
Deaths due to AIDS were 1.2 million (WHO, 2016). 25.8 million People living with HIV are in
Sub Saharan Africa accounting for 70% of the global total. Only 54% of all people living with
HIV know that they have the virus. By 2014, there were roughly 4 million new HIV infections.
280, 000 of which were among children most of these were infected via their HIV positive
mothers during pregnancy, childbirth or breast feeding Antiretroviral treatment as a remedy for
HIV and AIDS Treatment is expanding in sub-Saharan Africa with World Health Organization
advocating for integration of awareness especially among the youth (WHO, 2016).

The level of HIV/AIDS awareness among university students

Studies have showed that the majority of people globally do acquire information through radio
and televisions. In the United States, according to the UNAIDS(2004) report on the media and
HIV/AIDS, 72% of Americans got information about HIV/AIDS through television, radio and
newspapers and this was more than what was obtained from doctors, friends and family. Similar
statistics have also been reported in the United Kingdom and elsewhere in the world.

Tumushabe (2006:7) identified radio, newspapers and television as the most preferred form of
mass media in Uganda and Kiragu et al (2007) of Straight Talk Foundation Uganda notes that
school adolescents can acquire HIV/AIDS information through the print media like straight talk
magazines to supplement other forms of media. Communication statistics indicate there has
been an increased media presence in Uganda with about 277 privately owned radio stations in
Uganda(Uganda Communications Commission,2015), increase in analogue television stations
from 55 in 2010 to 67 in 2015 (UBOS Statistical Abstract,2015). It can therefore be argued that
Tv and radio is a major source of information in Uganda. Someone is defined as deprived in
terms of information if they are in a household that lacks a radio and television and as extremely
deprived if their household also lacks access to a mobile phone (EPRC&MoGLSD,2015). As
mobile phones were not common in 2000 and 2006, it is only in 2011 that there emerges a large
difference between deprivation which stands at 32% and extreme falling at 20% and this
establishes a significant improvement from 2000 when both rates were near 43%(EPRC &
MoGLSD,2015; UNHS,2011). The Northern and Eastern regions have, by far, the largest
proportions of information deprived children with one third and one quarter extremely deprived
of t, respectively as of 2011(UNHS,2011) while the Central region had the lowest proportion at
8.6%.

Deprivation rates, in terms of information, are many times higher in rural areas. For instance,
22% of the young people in rural areas are deprived in terms of information as compared to 6.4
of their counterparts in urban areas (UNHS, 2011).

Uganda AIDS Report (2014) identifies the “OBULAMU campaign” that produces integrated
health massages, including those for HIV via various media platforms like TV, Radio, SMS
alerts among others. The first stage of the roll-out was focusing on young people and adults in
relationships for which community shows, radio programs and inter-personal communication
materials were being disseminated. Many IPs in collaboration with Communication for Health
Communities (CHC) started rolling out advocacy campaigns to increase service coverage and
retention. They were supporting community demand creation through radio, community shows,
Television and dialogue meetings (USAID,2014).

The sources for HIV/AIDS information among University students

Escober-Chaves et al (2009) observed that most adolescents had acquired knowledge of
unhealthy sexual behaviors like involvement in teenage sex in the US which was as the result of
watching explicit pornographic movies on TV and Internet.

A survey to assess the long term exposure of young people on the sexual content on TV, Movies
and magazines used by the adolescents aged 12-14 years predicted undesired sexual behaviors in
the middle adolescence according to Brown,et al (2005) reported that in the same survey which
involved 1017 black and white adolescents in central north Carolina, white adolescents aged 12-
14 years were 2.2 times more likely to involve in the sexual intercourse at the age of 14-16 years
due to the exposure to the explicit sexual content on TV, Movies and Magazines. Therefore this
creates a huge gap on the level of HIV/AIDS awareness among the adolescents of developed and
developing countries because for instance;

A campaign in Côte d’Ivoire and Burkina Faso according to Babalola S,et al(2006) in the Journal
of HIV/AIDS Prevention Education for Adolescents and Children, identified that in terms of
consistent condom use, only 58% of adolescents who were not exposed to prevention education
used condoms consistently, those with low exposure to prevention education 70% while those
who were highly exposed to prevention education, 75% were using condoms consistently. This
underscores the need to provide educational information to adolescents to enable them take
precaution on HIV transmission (Wabwire-Mangeni et al. 2009).

In Uganda, according to Kiragu-Karusa et al (2007) evaluation report findings on straight talk

mass media campaign program in 2007 in Uganda showed that much exposure to straight talk
products was significantly associated with higher HIV/AIDS knowledge among the young
people in primary schools and secondary schools or even those out of school.

Media campaigns like “Obulamu” and “Zip up 256” in 2013 alone were able to reach a total of
1,639,649 individuals with behavior change interventions, representing 7.9% of an estimated
20,649,497 individuals aged 10 years and above who were eligible for behavior change
interventions in that year(USAID,2014; Uganda AIDS Report,2014).
The influence of information on the level of HIV/AIDS perception among students

Media has been identified to be playing the significance role in the fight against AIDS since
education is said to be the vaccine against HIV. Many media organizations have risen in
promoting awareness of HIV/AIDS and educating people about the facts of the epidemic and
how to prevent it.

In USA the media has been found to be imposing undesired influence on adolescents’ sexual
behaviors. Escober-Chaves et al (2009) observed that most unhealthy sexual behaviors like
involvement in teenage sex in the US are attributed to watching explicit pornographic movies on
TV and Internet.

A survey to assess the long term exposure of young people on the sexual content on TV, Movies
and magazines used by the adolescents aged 12-14 years predicted undesired sexual behaviors in
the middle adolescence (Brown,et al,2005) . it was reported that in the same survey which
involved 1017 black and white adolescents in central north Carolina, white adolescents aged 12-
14 years were 2.2 times more likely to involve in the sexual intercourse at the age of 14-16 years
due to the exposure to the explicit sexual content on TV, Movies and Magazines.

A campaign in Côte d’Ivoire and Burkina Faso according to Babalola et al(2006) in the Journal
of HIV/AIDS Prevention Education for Adolescents and Children, identified that in terms of
consistent condom use, those who were not exposed to prevention education, only 58% used
condoms consistently, those with low exposure to prevention education 70% while those who
were highly exposed to prevention education, 75% were using condoms consistently. This
underscores the need to provide educational information to adolescents to enable them take
precaution on HIV transmission.

In Uganda, according to the Kiragu-Karusa et al(2007) evaluation report findings on straight

talk mass media campaign program since its implementation in Uganda in 1993 showed that
much exposure to straight talk products like straight talk radio and newspapers was significantly
associated with higher HIV/AIDS knowledge specifically on the preventive measures like
abstinence and mode of HIV transmission among the young people in primary schools and
secondary schools or even those out of school.
The country has continued to mitigate the effects of the epidemic through psychosocial support,
protection and empowerment particularly for the youth, PLHIV and OVC. Innovations included
The SALT (“the Support on AIDS and Life through the Telephone) program that provides
counselling services through the telephone and the HIV Psychosocial support to PLHIV(Uganda
AIDS Commission,2014). The Y+ Beauty Pageant 2014 was developed to address beauty with
Zero Discrimination among the HIV positive youth and to reduce stigma in Uganda through the
use of social media.

WHO(2013) observes that with increased communication strategies, the numbers of PLHIVs on
TB treatment increased from 14.7% in 2013 to 81% in 2014(Uganda AIDS Report,2014).
Equally, condom use increased with 87 million condoms imported in 2012 compared to more
than 200 million condoms brought in in 2014(Uganda AIDS Report,2014; Wabwire-Mangeni et
al. 2009). This literature review therefore resonates with the argument that there is a clear and
stark relationship between communication and HIV awareness levels.
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