This 84-page resource provides context for - and knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) baseline survey data related to - the communication-centred work carried out in India by the BBC World Service Trust (BBC WST). Since 2001 the BBC WST has conducted a mass media campaign on HIV/AIDS in partnership with the Indian Ministry of Health and Family Welfare's National AIDS Control Organization (NACO), and with the public TV broadcaster Doordarshan (DD). Funded by the British government's Department for International Development (DFID), this collaborative project uses TV entertainment ("edutainment") as a forum for messaging on HIV/AIDS awareness and prevention, and for encouraging behaviour change. A new phase of the project commenced in early 2005, and new programming went on air nationwide on DD beginning in September 2005. Among the new offerings are 10 new public service announcements (PSAs) addressing condom promotion, stigma, gender and testing and treatment, as well as the youth-oriented programme 'Haath se Haath Milaa', which went back on air for a year-long run in February 2006 after being reformatted to involve leading "Bollywood" celebrities in HIV/AIDS awareness messaging.

In order to assess the impact of this new phase of the project, and to gain up-to-date information about awareness and behaviour, the Trust undertook the baseline study detailed here. The survey was conducted in 17 Indian states where DD viewership is high between mid-June and end of July 2005. It assessed current perceptions, attitudes and behaviour regarding HIV/AIDS among the general population and among DD audiences in non-metro urban and rural India. An initial screener survey was administered to 22,800 people to identify DD viewers and to ask six key questions about HIV/AIDS. A second, more detailed survey was administered to 11,400 DD viewers.

Some of the key findings include:

• 85% of the general population had heard of AIDS, though there was much regional variation; fewer people (70% of the general population) had heard of HIV. Awareness levels were higher among men, and in urban areas. 67% of the general population were aware, without prompting, that HIV/AIDS could be transmitted sexually. But almost one in three women respondents were unable to specify any correct route of HIV transmission. Three-quarters of the general population said they would look after a family member living with HIV/AIDS.
• Among DD viewers, condom awareness is high (88%) but use is low (24%). Nearly all (87%) of DD viewers knew about blood tests for HIV and 76% agreed that testing for pregnant women is desirable. However, only 6% had actually been tested.
• TV viewers had much higher awareness of HIV/AIDS than non-TV viewers, and viewers of DD were significantly more aware of HIV/AIDS than viewers of cable and satellite channels. For instance, awareness of HIV/AIDS was almost two and a half times greater than those not exposed to any television. Among respondents to the full questionnaire, TV was the most widely cited source of information on HIV/AIDS, followed by newspapers.

Strategic considerations are then offered for HIV/AIDS media in India. For instance, BBC WST suggests that information and messaging content:

• Sustain an emphasis on routes of transmission, particularly mother-to-child transmission, and undertake further efforts to tackle misconceptions about routes of transmission as part of a broader strategy to reduce stigma
• Encourage condom use by seeking to reduce embarrassment and to develop a positive association to normalise their use
• Strengthen messaging on the care and treatment of those living with HIV/AIDS
• Increase messaging about HIV testing, such as by providing information on who should get tested and the benefits of testing
• Increase messaging about sexually transmitted infection (STI).

In short, the research reported here provides evidence that exposure to the medium of television has a direct impact on awareness of HIV/AIDS. Based on the observation that DD has had an impact in promoting HIV/AIDS awareness (which is "clearly a pre-requisite for positive change in attitudes and practices") BBC WST suggests that future communications activities and media campaigns make it a priority to reach out to women in rural areas, men and women with limited or no literacy, and men and women who do not watch or have access to TV. The BBC WST will conduct a follow-up endline survey at the end of the current phase of its mass media project in early 2007 in an effort to capture any shifts in KAP that may have occurred since this baseline survey was conducted.

Click here to access a related peer-reviewed summary on the Health e Communication website, and to participate in peer review.