Promoting identification of HIV-infected youths: borrowing concepts from the media to reduce the HIV epidemic?

Abstract

The HIV/AIDS epidemic is dramatically affecting adolescents. Although it is estimated that 50% of new HIV infections in the United States is among people under 25 years of age, adolescents seek HIV counseling and testing services at a much lower rate than adults. Furthermore, many HIV-infected adolescents remain unaware of their status and do not seek health care. As HIV identification remains the most important gap in the efforts to control the spread of the HIV epidemic among youths, there is an increasing need to implement creative strategies to attract youths to HIV screening services. This article describes the implementation of an innovative HIV/AIDS social marketing campaign designed to attract at-risk urban adolescents to youth-friendly HIV counseling and testing services and link them to comprehensive health care. In addition, the article describes the key elements of the social marketing initiative: 1) designing a meaningful message, 2) attaining audience credibility, and 3) mobilizing the community.