Untitled AIDS Educational Film

OVERVIEW

 

The AIDS educational film is a school-based intervention that informed adolescents about AIDS using a film. (An alternate format, a lecture version of the intervention, is also summarized here. Positive impacts of the AIDS educational film were found for AIDS knowledge and attitudes towards AIDS patients. Although these impacts had dissipated somewhat by one-month follow-up, they were still significantly greater than at the pre-test. There was also a positive impact on attitudes towards practicing preventive behaviors at post-test, but it disappeared by one-month follow-up.

 

DESCRIPTION OF PROGRAM

 

Target population: Adolescents

 

This AIDS educational film is a school-based intervention, which consists of a 18-minute film on AIDS, followed by an additional 8 minutes of information on AIDS presented in lecture format and 15 minutes of question and answer. The intervention aims to increase adolescents’ knowledge of AIDS, positive attitudes toward AIDS patients, and positive attitudes toward practicing preventive behaviors.

 

EVALUTION OF PROGRAM

 

Evaluated population: Participants were 448 tenth grade students at two suburban public high schools near Oklahoma City. The sample was 56 percent female, and the average age was 15.6.

 

Approach: Classrooms were randomly assigned to watch the film, to hear a lecture based on the transcript of the film, or to the control condition. Data were collected on AIDS knowledge, attitudes toward AIDS patients, and attitudes toward practicing preventive behaviors one week before the intervention, immediately following the intervention, and one month after the intervention.

 

Results: AIDS knowledge increased from pre-test to post-test, but then decreased between post-test and follow-up. However, knowledge at follow-up was still significantly higher than at pre-test. Students who watched the film had more knowledge of AIDS at post-test and follow-up compared with students in the control group. (However, they had less knowledge of AIDS than students who heard the lecture.) At both post-test and follow-up students who watched the film had more positive attitudes towards AIDS patients than students in the control group, but there were no differences between the film and lecture groups on attitudes towards AIDS patients. Attitudes towards practicing preventive behaviors increased significantly from pre-test to post-test, but then decreased by follow-up to pre-test levels, and did not differ from the control group.

 

SOURCES FOR MORE INFORMATION

 

References

 

Huszti, H.C., Clopton, J.R., & Mason, P.J. (1989). Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome educational program: Effects on adolescents’ knowledge and attitudes. Pediatrics, 84, 986-994.

 

KEYWORDS: Adolescents (12-17), High School, Males and Females (Co-ed), Suburban, School-based, STD/HIV/AIDS

 

Program information last updated on 1/31/11.

 

		© Child Trends 2003