Background: Sexual activity begins early in Malawi and the HIV prevalence
is high, particularly among young women ages 15-24. Enhancing self-efficacy,
encouraging open communication and promoting goal-setting can influence
young people to make positive choices that can, in turn, affect their risks for
HIV. One approach for empowering young people to make healthier choices is
entertainment education.
Methods: Tisankhenji was an entertainment education radio program designed
to increase self-efficacy, encourage open discussion, promote career goals, and
education aspirations among young girls in Malawi. The impact of Tisankhenji
was assessed using a post-only, treatment-control quasi-experimental design.
Self-administered surveys collected from boys and girls in randomly selected
treatment schools (n = 709), were compared to similar data collected from control
schools (n = 696). Linear regression analyses tested the hypothesis that exposure
to the Tisankhenji radio program, after controlling for demographic differences,
would be associated with increased self-efficacy, open discussions, career
aspirations, and educational attainment goals.
Results: Program exposure was significantly associated with increased selfefficacy
to attain an education, and to engage in discussions with parents,
teachers and elders about career plans and HIV prevention (P < .001). Program
exposure was also associated with having had discussions about career plans (P <
.001), with career aspiration intentions (P < .01), and with educational attainment
goals (P < .01).
Conclusions: This study suggests that cognitive and behavioral skills can be
enhanced through an entertainment education approach, and schools may provide
an ideal intervention setting. Young people, and specifically young girls because
of their increased vulnerability to HIV/AIDS, must continue to be targeted with
theoretically-based interventions.