AEGiS-14IAC: The identification of student opinion leaders for an HIV prevention programme in Cape Town high schools.

14th International AIDS Conference

Barcelona, Spain - July 7-12, 2002

The identification of student opinion leaders for an HIV prevention programme in Cape Town high schools.

Int Conf AIDS 2002 Jul 7-12; 14:(abstract no. D11103)

Mathews C, Guttmacher S, Flisher A, Hani A, Antonetti I
South African Medical Research Council and University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa

BACKGROUND: Opinion leaders are influential members of their social networks, strategically selected for their ability to sway community norms. The aims of the study were to assess: 1) whether it is feasible to identify student opinion leaders (SOLs) and their social networks among high school students in Cape Town, South Africa; and 2) whether these opinion leaders would be willing to be involved in an HIV/AIDS prevention programme in their school.

METHODS: Grade 11 students (N = 412) at two high schools completed a semi-structured, anonymous, self-administered questionnaire in which they identified student social networks and opinion leaders. Key informant interviews were conducted with key informants among the students and teachers.

RESULTS: Students in both schools provided a wide range of characteristics, both pro-social and anti-social, that defined social networks, and these were generally consistent with those that emerged in the key informant interviews. 17% and 10% of the students nominated at all as opinion leaders at the two schools received 6 or more nominations in the survey. The key informants confirmed 72% and 71% of these nominations. Using information from the survey and key informant interviews, 44 and 42 SOLs were identified at the two schools respectively. Of these, all but two at each school were willing and available to participate in a HIV/AIDS prevention programme. When the programme was run at the schools three weeks later, 28 and 35 of the SOLs at the two schools respectively attended.

CONCLUSION: The next step is to investigate whether SOLs remain in an HIV/AIDS prevention training program and actively apply this training during a trial period, and whether this has an impact on the risk of contracting HIV infection among high school students.

Keywords: AEGIS, Students, Schools, HIV Infections, Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome, HIV Seropositivity, Teaching, Social Support, South Africa, education, therapy

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D11103