Effectiveness of sources of HIV/AIDS awareness in a rural community in Imo State, Nigeria

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: The effectiveness of each of the 14 sources of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) awareness available to women and adolescent girls dwelling in a rural community in Imo State, Nigeria was measured in order to understand the relative contribution of the sources to the general knowledge about human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)/AIDS possessed by the women and the girls. METHODS: The details of the research methods adopted in this study, which involved 734 in-school and out-of-school adolescents and 434 women, have been described previously [Nwagwu, W. Di Nwanna and the reproductive health of the girl child in Imo State, Nigeria. Final Report (04 83064 000 GSS) submitted to MacArthur Fund for Leadership and Development, Abuja, 2006]. RESULTS: Friends and relatives emerged as the most effective source of AIDS awareness for women (29%), followed by community meetings (26%) and then television (20%), whereas the most effective sources for the girls were television (28%), followed by friends and relatives, and radio (17% and 14.4%, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: Each of the information sources listed made some contribution to the general knowledge about HIV/AIDS possessed by the respondents, although the level of awareness would have been low among women in the absence of friends and relatives, and among the girls in the absence of television. Information awareness programmes should be selected according to the needs of social groups and the most effective information sources concentrated upon.