The Project Ignite Evaluation: Tribes in Trinidad & Tobago and Shuga in Kenya and Zambia

This document shares an evaluation of MTV's Staying Alive Ignite campaign, which used mass media (television drama), social networking platforms, and interpersonal communication to put forward key messages around transmission, prevention, condom use, HIV testing, multiple concurrent partnerships, and stigma and discrimination relating to HIV/AIDS in Kenya, Trinidad and Tobago, Ukraine, and Zambia. This evaluation covers 2 of the 3 campaigns: "Shuga" in Kenya and Zambia, and "Tribes" in Trinidad and Tobago.

The campaign used various techniques to challenge young people to ignite a movement to change their sexual behaviour and challenge previously held norms to stop the spread of HIV/AIDS. Campaign elements varied per country, but consisted of 3-part TV dramas, a radio component, street teams disseminating information (feature stories and news pieces) through a dedicated website, peer education training (through a free educational toolkit), and on-the-ground marketing, such as free screenings and competitions.

Researchers used 2 approaches to explore if youth (ages 15-24 in Trinidad & Tobago and Kenya; ages 18-24 in Zambia) were aware of the campaign, and if so, what these youth thought of and how they were affected by such awareness: (i) a panel approach; and (ii) a viewer study, where the design controlled the participants' exposure to the campaign materials.

Key findings:

• The evaluation explained that a good health campaign would have exposure of about 10% of the population. In Zambia, the percentage of young people who had heard of the Ignite campaign was around 7%, but only 4% had actually seen Shuga. Trinidad did slightly better - with 15% being aware of the campaign, but still only 8% had seen Tribes. In stark contrast, in Kenya, 64% of young people 15-24 were aware of the campaign, and 60% saw it and remembered it.
• With every sample, there was strong understanding of the presented messages. When allowed to select multiple messages, participants consistently chose the multiple partners, HIV testing, and stigma messages from a battery of 9 different health issues. Sixty percent or more of the participants in every sample indicated that the main message of the programme was HIV testing, followed by multiple partners.
• Participants who had seen the show reported that they had talked about Tribes or Shuga with other friends and family. For example, 52% of the participants in the Kenyan viewer group study said they had talked with a close friend about the programme's characters or messages. Smaller percentages said they talked with people with whom they were having a relationship. At least 10% of those who had seen the show, across panels and countries, reported that they had talked with a parent or guardian about the characters or its messages.
• Figure 1 on page 13 shows the percentages that responded "yes" to the question: "Did watching the show have an impact on your thinking?" Across the samples and countries, the majority of participants felt the show had an impact on their thinking for the topics of HIV testing, concurrent relationships, and stigma. For instance, around 50 to 60% of the youth in the Zambia panel felt the show had an effect on their thinking about the 3 topics; that number jumped to 90% for youth in the Kenya viewer group.
• In terms of attitudes, among Kenyan participants: 2-3 months before the show, the average intention to take an HIV test was 6.5/10; after having watched Shuga, it was 7.3/10. Also in Kenya, the intention to be friends with someone who was HIV-positive was 6.2/10 before the show and was 7.7/10 after the show. In Trinidad and Tobago, based on how much they liked the show and assessed the relationships that were depicted in it to be realistic, those who watched Tribes had more sympathetic attitudes towards people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWA) and a decreased intention to be in a concurrent relationship.

A discussion section of the paper shares reflections, such as: "Given necessary components for behavior change, it is likely that exposure to this campaign will play a significant role in young people having healthier sexual attitudes and behaviors."

Finally, several recommendations for future campaigns (and evaluations) that are gleaned from this research are offered. In short:

• Employ new technology: "Future audiences should receive messages and updates through mobile text and the Internet. Additionally, research might want to use technology to monitor the impact of campaigns. Not only can responses be emailed but also, evaluations can check whether participants have gone online to a site or followed up by going to a particular website."
• Consider more rural and underserved populations: "The campaign could explore how youth outside of the cities deal with HIV/AIDS and the evaluation could collect data to see if such messages were being received. Use the viewer group design in future studies..."
• Target more specific behaviours and measure behaviour change: "For example, a targeted behavior could be showing a less tech-savvy friend how to find online the address and hours of a local VCT [voluntary counselling and testing] clinic. This could be modeled in the program and specifically evaluated (i.e., have you ever shown a friend how to go online and find a local VCT clinic?).
• Further develop and evaluate Staying Alive in a Box, which is a free educational toolkit for peer education that accompanies the dramas.