CHAPTER
ONE
1.0 INTRODUCTION
1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
Communication
is activities of conveying information as by speech, visuals, signals, writing
or behavior; it is the meaningful exchange of information between two or more
people or a group of people.
From
the creation of the world, there has being endless needs to inform people about
one thing or the other and this shows that communication has become an
inseparable part of our lives. Communication has variously defined by many
communication experts, erudite scholars and educationists with each of them
defining it in accordance with his field of studies, area (s) of interest and
prejudices. This accounts for why there has not been one singular acceptable
definition of what communication presupposes.
For
instance, it has been viewed as an act of sending or conveying understandable
information from the sender to the receiver through an appropriate channel,
with the speaker hearer responding to such a message in the form of feedback.
Communication
has equally been defined as a mean of establishing commonness with someone
which involves the giving of an understandable message from one person to
another through a desirable and adequate channel or medium which the sender has
considered fit to be suitable to both the sender, the occasion and of course,
the purpose.
Ajibade
(1994) maintain, that “Communication is the generation and attribution of
meaning”. Generation starts from the speaker who encodes the communication
message in the way that the receiver must understand”.
According
to James Platt “Communication is the process through which individuals observes
stimuli through the drawing of references with or without observable concomitant
physical responses”.
Dean
Barlund maintains that “Communication arises out of the need to reduce
uncertainty to act effectively to define or strengthen the ego”. He further
state that the aim of communications is to increase the number and consistency
of meanings within the limits set by patterns of evaluations that have proven
successful in the past.
Murphy
(1977) defines communication as an exchange of meaning by which one mind affect
another, according to him communication is information that register somewhere
in the mental structure of the receiver.
The
essential of communication are certain fundamental ingredients which are
necessary for communication to take. They are not just essential in the
communication process, but also inevitable and compulsory. These elements
include knowing who is communicating, what he is communicating, or encoding,
the person with whom he is communicating, and of course the channel or the
medium he is employing in communicating. Communication may not take place or be
effective at best until these components are present and interact effectively
among themselves.
Two
communication experts, Shannon and Weaver in 1974 identified five basic
communication elements or ingredients; these are source, transmitter, signal,
receiver and destination. The Shannon Weaver model has been found useful in
describing human communication.
Nigeria
faces a high burden of AIDS with more than three million people already
infected with HIV. Other than a slight decrease from 5.8% in 2001 to 5.0% in
2003, the country’s HIV sero prevalence rate has increased progressively since
the first case was officially disclosed in 1986. The epidemiologic pattern of
HIV infection with sexual behavior, used of contaminated skin piecing
instruments and mother-to-child transmission as the principal modes of transmission
clearly indicates that behavior modification is central to HIV prevention. The
current absence of curative immunological, pharmacological, and related medical
interventions against HIV/AIDS make behavioral interventions more critical than
for many other diseases of public health importance. To ensure maximum impact
behavioral interventions must be examined critically and avenues for
strengthening them within national programs and community initiative must be
continuously sought.
Evidence
from the successful experience of Uganda indicates that appropriate sexual
behavior modification can produce a positive impact equivalent to that of a
vaccine with an effectiveness of 80% following their view of the decline of
(HIV in Tailand, Zambia and the gay community in the United States, stone
burner and low. Beer argued that Uganda is not unique and the successful
experiences share several basic elements “the continuum of communication, behavior
change, and care”. These success stories stimulates interest in ensuring that
HIV related communication programs are sound in concept and produce the desired
behavior changes that will halt the spread of HIV and eventually reverse its
impact at the population level.
Ever
since the first case of AIDS registered in 1982, the epidemic has continued to
be on increased. For instance, an estimated 5.1% to 5.4% of the population has
been infected with HIV/AIDS by 1999 and by 2006, 6.1 million of 140 million
population is living with HIV/AIDS. The situation becomes worrisome as the
number of people with the disease is expected to grow significantly by the end
of 2010. Despite the pandemic nature of HIV/AIDS, it was not until 2000 that
the Nigeria government recognized HIV/AIDS as a major health problem (FRN
2000). Unfortunately, this was not immediately matched with intensified
campaign on HIV/AIDS by government at all level. However, the recent happenings
indicates government sudden interest in
fighting the scourge government mounted aggressive campaign in media and posted
bills boards in cities and high ways, sensitive song on the danger of the
disease, modes of transmission and prevention. There are also responses from.
Despite several efforts by government and non-government organization to
address the problem, it is dishearted to note that the rate of infection is
still very high.
1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
This
study is solely concern with examine the effects of behavioral change on people
perception of HIV/AIDS awareness campaign.
HIV/AIDS
is a major health problem, in 2006; Nigeria recorded 6.1 million of 140 million
populations living with the disease. One is left wondering if people are aware
of the disease and if various campaigns on HIV/AIDS have impact on them. HIV/AIDS
remains incurable and devastates many communities and nations. Since the first
reported case in the united state in 1981, it has spread unremittingly to
virtually every country in the world. The number of people living with the
virus has raised from 10 million in 1991 to 33 million in 2007.in 2007, they
were 2.7 million new infections and 2 million HIV related deaths. Globally,
about 45% of new infected occurred among young people (age 5.24).
Africa
remains the most affected region in the world. Sub-saharan Africa, which has
just over 10% of the world’s population is home to two-thirds of all people
living with HIV and three quarter of all AIDs death (1.5 million deaths) in
2007.
Nigeria
was awakened from its state of disbelief about the presence of the virus is the
country by the late Olikoye Ransome Kuti. There is therefore a need to check if
really communication through awareness campaign induces behavior or change in
behavior in the society.
1.3 RESEARCH QUESTIONS
The
question of this research word intends to address:
–
How frequent are the
campaigns on HIV/AIDS in the media?
–
To what extent are the
people informed in the scourge?
–
What are the various
mass media employed to disseminating information on the scourge?
–
What impact do the
campaigns have on the audience?
–
How effective are the
mass media campaigns to reducing the spread of HIV/AIDS?
–
1.4 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
This
study will increase knowledge about HIV/AIDS, raise awareness of personal risk
factor, teach vulnerable individuals the skill needed to reduce risk behaviors.
It
will motivate individuals to adapt and continue safe behaviors. It will
increase the use of appropriate HIV prevention and care services by both
infected and uninfected person. It also reduced the fear and stigmatization of
association with HIV/AIDS.
It
aims at increasing acceptance and ownership of HIV/AIDS programs by the
community and advocate to mobilize and increase resources for HIV/AID
prevention and care program at community and government levels.
It
aims at increasing the use of appropriate HIV/AIDS prevention and care services
by both infected and uninfected person. It will help to reduced the fear and
stigmatization often associated with HIV/AIDS.
It
aims at increasing acceptance and ownership of HIV/AIDS programs by the
community and advocate to mobilize and increase resource for HIV/AIDS
prevention and care programs and at community and government levels.
1.5 OBJETIVES OF THE STUDY
The main
objectives of this study are:
–
To show the different
various means of mass media employed to disseminate information about the
disease (HIV/AIDS)
–
To educate the audience
on how to reduce the spread of the disease.
–
To show the extent of
awareness of the disease to audience through the mass media.
–
To show the positive impact
of HIV/AIDS campaigns have on the audience.
–
To enlighten the
audience the consequence of the disease (HIV/AIDS)
–
To show effectiveness
of the various means of disseminating information about the disease.
1.6 SCOPE OF THE STUDY
This study focuses on communication and
behavioral changes of people perceptions towards HIV/AIDS awareness campaign
using different form of mass media like Television, Radio bill board, postal
etc.
1.7 DEFINITION OF THE KEY TERMS
–
COMMUNICATION: refers to the exchange and flow of international and ideals from
one person to another it involves a sender transmitting an idea, information or
feeling to a receiver.
Dean Barland maintain that “communication arise out
of the need to reduced uncertainty, to act effectively to define or strengthen
the ego”.
Oxford advance learner’s dictionary defines
communication as the activity or process of expressing idea and feelings or of
giving people information.
–
BEHAVIORAL: The way a
person, an animal, a plant, a chemical etc. believes or functions in a
particular situation.
CHANGE:
to make somebody or something different or to express a different opinion or
behave in a different way from before. (Oxford Advance Learner’s Dictionary).
Therefore, behavioral change refers to a
broad range of activities and approaches which focus on the individual,
community and environment influence on behavior.
–
AWARENESS: Is the state
or ability to perceive to feel or to be sensory pattern. Oxford advanced
learner’s Dictionary define awareness as “knowing that something exist and it’s
important”.
–
PERCEPTION: Merrian
Websters’s dictionary reefer’s to perception as “the way you think about or
understand someone or something”.
Oxford
Advance Learner’s Dictionary refers to perception as “an idea, belief or an
image you have as a result of how you see or understand something”.
Perception
is more subject to the influence of learning through hearing, smell, touch and
tastes.
–
CAMPAIGN: An operation
or series of operation energetically pursued to accomplish a purpose. Oxford
Advanced Learner’s Dictionary refer to campaign as a series of planned
activities that are intended to achieve a particular social, commercial or
political aim.
–
HIV/AIDS: Oxford
Advance Learner’s Dictionary refers to HIV as the abbreviation for Human Immune
Deficiency Virus (the virus that can cause AIDS) and AIDS as the abbreviation
for Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (An illness which attacks the body’s
ability to resist infection and which usually casually cause death)