Impact of Advertisement on Condom Use and Attitudinal Change among Tamale Polytechnic Students in HIV/AIDS Preventive Strategies

• Main Author: Ayinla Suleiman Rafiu
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Africa Development and Resources Research Institute (ADRRI) 2017-05-01
• Series: Journal of Arts and Social Sciences
• Online Access: https://journals.adrri.org/index.php/adrrijass/article/view/350

HIV negatively impacts life expectancy, health, education and the economy. It has dire, social and psychological impacts on both the infected and affected. This, HIV transmission and the ability to cope with its consequence cannot be isolated from the social, cultural, demographic, economic and political conditions in a country. Two-thirds of the people living with HIV/AIDS live in sub-Sahara Africa. The government of Ghana subsidises the cost of care including Anti-Retroviral drugs by 90%. This study, therefore, is to investigate the impact of advertisement on condom use and attitudinal change among Tamale polytechnic students in HIV/AIDS preventive strategies. This paper adopted Attitude Change, and Information Processing Theories, using survey. Quantitative data were analysed using descriptive statistics. There is a positive relationship between health communication and adoption of preventive measures. Condom advertisements on Radio, Television, Newspapers and New Media are a good means of educating students on the adoption of HIV/AIDS preventives strategies. This study, therefore, recommends holistic and multi-sectoral approaches by all and sundry in fighting this pandemic. There should be persistent, recursive and vigorous use of mass media in this endeavour. Prevention programmes that seek to reduce HIV/AIDS among students should be implemented so as to help form attitudinal and behavioural change. This paper reiterates calls for an effective national response to the epidemic that is pillaging humanity.