‘Stop aids love life’. Attitudes towards HIV/AIDS: the role of HIV/AIDS behaviour change communication messages among Ghanaian youth

Kamil Fuseini, Regional Institute for Population Studies

This study examined the relationship between exposure to HIV/AIDS Behaviour Change Communication (BCC) messages and attitudes towards HIV/AIDS among Ghanaian youth using data from the 2003 Ghana Demographic and Health Survey. Awareness of HIV/AIDS messages (about 94%) was very high. Approximately 10% of females and 13% of males had favourable attitudes (score of 4 out of 4). Of the about 40% of females and 41% of males who had knowledge of all (3) the messages, only 17.0% of females and 20.7% of males had favourable attitudes. Even though a very small proportion of those who had heard or seen all the messages had favourable attitudes, the multiple linear regression shows that having heard two or all the complementing messages is a significant predictor of attitudes towards. The high awareness of HIV/AIDS messages does not manifest in the proportions with favourable attitudes. BCC messages should be packaged holistically and made comprehensive.