Comprehension of HIV/AIDS messages in Lesotho

Targeted audiences do not always comprehend HIV/AIDS visual campaigns that are meant to educate and inform, and thus such campaigns do not result in a positive change in behaviour and attitude. This is possibly ascribable to the inappropriate use of graphic imagery and other visual elements in many...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Olutunmise Adesola Ojo, Rudi de Lange
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: University of Johannesburg 2022-10-01
Series:Communicare
Subjects:
Online Access:https://journals.uj.ac.za/index.php/jcsa/article/view/1664
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1832593775877160960
author Olutunmise Adesola Ojo
Rudi de Lange
author_facet Olutunmise Adesola Ojo
Rudi de Lange
author_sort Olutunmise Adesola Ojo
collection DOAJ
description Targeted audiences do not always comprehend HIV/AIDS visual campaigns that are meant to educate and inform, and thus such campaigns do not result in a positive change in behaviour and attitude. This is possibly ascribable to the inappropriate use of graphic imagery and other visual elements in many such campaigns. Even though the cost of the ineffective use of graphic images in information and awareness might be difficult to calculate – especially with regard to health-related problems in which lives are involved, – the effectiveness of any visual healthcommunication material in terms of meaningful learning, comprehension or retention can nevertheless be determined by means of post-testing. In this study, the comprehension of the loveLife outdoor campaign material was thus post-tested amongst 301 subjects from five high schools in both urban and rural areas. The study set out to determine the subjects’ comprehension of both the messages and the graphic imagery and evaluated the material for self-efficacy. The results indicate that suitable graphic imagery fosters message comprehension, that inappropriate imagery inhibits comprehension, and that realistic and appropriate imagery is preferred to abstract and representational imagery. In addition, it was found that familiar images are a vehicle towards improved comprehension of HIV/AIDS messages.
format Article
id doaj-art-68c14f1df7cb4ffe8c4fa4827c7164fd
institution Kabale University
issn 0259-0069
2957-7950
language English
publishDate 2022-10-01
publisher University of Johannesburg
record_format Article
series Communicare
spelling doaj-art-68c14f1df7cb4ffe8c4fa4827c7164fd2025-01-20T08:54:19ZengUniversity of JohannesburgCommunicare0259-00692957-79502022-10-0130110.36615/jcsa.v30i1.1664Comprehension of HIV/AIDS messages in LesothoOlutunmise Adesola Ojo0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6892-271XRudi de Lange1https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0008-0998Central University of TechnologyTshwane University of Technology Targeted audiences do not always comprehend HIV/AIDS visual campaigns that are meant to educate and inform, and thus such campaigns do not result in a positive change in behaviour and attitude. This is possibly ascribable to the inappropriate use of graphic imagery and other visual elements in many such campaigns. Even though the cost of the ineffective use of graphic images in information and awareness might be difficult to calculate – especially with regard to health-related problems in which lives are involved, – the effectiveness of any visual healthcommunication material in terms of meaningful learning, comprehension or retention can nevertheless be determined by means of post-testing. In this study, the comprehension of the loveLife outdoor campaign material was thus post-tested amongst 301 subjects from five high schools in both urban and rural areas. The study set out to determine the subjects’ comprehension of both the messages and the graphic imagery and evaluated the material for self-efficacy. The results indicate that suitable graphic imagery fosters message comprehension, that inappropriate imagery inhibits comprehension, and that realistic and appropriate imagery is preferred to abstract and representational imagery. In addition, it was found that familiar images are a vehicle towards improved comprehension of HIV/AIDS messages. https://journals.uj.ac.za/index.php/jcsa/article/view/1664HIV/AIDSLesotholoveLifeoutdoor media campaignsawarenessvisual healthcommunication material
spellingShingle Olutunmise Adesola Ojo
Rudi de Lange
Comprehension of HIV/AIDS messages in Lesotho
Communicare
HIV/AIDS
Lesotho
loveLife
outdoor media campaigns
awareness
visual healthcommunication material
title Comprehension of HIV/AIDS messages in Lesotho
title_full Comprehension of HIV/AIDS messages in Lesotho
title_fullStr Comprehension of HIV/AIDS messages in Lesotho
title_full_unstemmed Comprehension of HIV/AIDS messages in Lesotho
title_short Comprehension of HIV/AIDS messages in Lesotho
title_sort comprehension of hiv aids messages in lesotho
topic HIV/AIDS
Lesotho
loveLife
outdoor media campaigns
awareness
visual healthcommunication material
url https://journals.uj.ac.za/index.php/jcsa/article/view/1664
work_keys_str_mv AT olutunmiseadesolaojo comprehensionofhivaidsmessagesinlesotho
AT rudidelange comprehensionofhivaidsmessagesinlesotho