Media Campaign Exposure and HIV/AIDS Prevention: 1980–2020

The interest of health communication scholars hover on relationships between HIV/AIDS message exposure and HIV knowledge, attitude and practice as the epidemic is no longer seen as only a health issue; its ramifications cover all aspects of society from economic, social structures to psychological makeup of communities. The media, under normal condition are expected to complement governments’ efforts in achieving set objectives on such important issues as combating HIV/AIDS through the creation of awareness, mobilization and advocacy among other things, such as contained in the cardinal tenets of Development Media Theory. This is more so given that the only remedy to the epidemic is prevention through advocacy on the promotion of safe practices. Mass media play a central role in this direction. Exposure to HIV/AIDS messages especially on the mass media among adolescents in sub Saharan Africa has been reported as abysmal in the early 2000s, but now given growth in infrastructure and development in technology and program appeal, there emerges a need for reassessment. Given that communication particularly through the media is considered a major preventive strategy, this chapter set out to highlight a compressive review of scholarly works on HIV/AIDS media exposure, knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP) across regions of the world, since the 80s. It is however concluded that the study of media use and HIV/AIDS KAP leaves much to be explored conceptually, methodologically and empirically.