The Drum Beat 435 - Impact: Straight Talk in Uganda

This issue of The Drum Beat focuses on a specific project and its evaluation results. Straight Talk Foundation (STF)'s Straight Talk Project, with various communication campaigns and components, has been running in Uganda since 1993. Recently, STF undertook evaluating several facets of their work and have produced reports related to the results and outcomes of their campaigns. This issue includes a review of those evaluations as well as some of the campaign components.

===

THE PROJECT

1. Straight Talk Project - Uganda
The Ugandan non-governmental organisation (NGO) STF has been implementing mass media communication programmes in Uganda since 1993 in an effort to bring information about sexual and reproductive health to young people. This initiative draws on person-to-person contact, radio, and printed materials to share information among, and foster communication between, young people and influential adults (e.g., parents and teachers) about adolescent sexual and reproductive health (ASRH), including issues related to HIV/AIDS. Specifically, core communication components include: a number of newspapers - for primary and secondary school students, for parents, and for teachers; entertainment-education radio programmes for in- and out-of-school youth; and youth clubs, parent clubs, health fairs, and teacher training.

THE IMPACT

2. Impact Data - Straight Talk Campaign - Impact on Youth
Exposure to STF materials was significantly associated with ever having talked with parents about ASRH - among both males and females. Researchers found that greater exposure to the materials is significantly associated with higher ASRH knowledge, and each incremental exposure is associated with increased knowledge. Both male and female adolescents exposed to all 3 STF items are 3 times more likely to have positive attitudes about condoms compared to those who had not been exposed. Exposure to STF activities was associated with getting tested for HIV. Female adolescents were three-and-a-half times more likely to have been tested than those not exposed, and male adolescents were nearly 4 times more likely to have been tested.

3. Impact Data - Straight Talk / Parent Talk Campaign - Impact on Parents
Overall, there was a direct correlation between parental exposure to STF materials (residing in a high-intensity district) and the parent having talked with the child: 56% of those in high-intensity districts had had such a talk, compared to 40% of those in low-intensity districts. About 62% of parents who had read Parent Talk (52 parents) said that they took some type of action as a result of reading Parent Talk. The most common action was to talk to other parents/friends (39%), talk with their child/children's friends (17%), recommend the magazine to someone (17%), or talk with spouse (13%).

4. The Straight Talk Campaign in Uganda: Impact of Mass Media Initiatives
by Susan E. Adamchak, Karusa Kiragu, Cathy Watson, Medard Muhwezi, Tobey Nelson, Ann Akia-Fiedler, Richard Kibombo, and Milka Juma
This report presents findings from an evaluation of the STF's mass media communication programmes. The evaluation suggests that exposure to STF materials has improved adolescents' knowledge and attitudes about sexual and reproductive health and helped them to adopt safer behaviours, and it identifies specific impacts in these areas. The evaluation also revealed some disturbing attitudes among parents, many of whom are unable or unwilling to talk with their adolescent children about sexual and reproductive health. One-quarter of parents feel that males should be favoured when financial resources are scarce; about the same percentage feel that girls are intellectually inferior to boys; two-thirds agree that women should tolerate abuse from their husbands to keep a family together; and one-third report that there are times when women deserve to be beaten by their husbands.

5. Straight Talk Campaign in Uganda: Evaluation of the School Environment Program
by Karusa Kiragu, Tobey Nelson, Cathy Watson, Ann Akia-Fiedler, Medard Muhwezi, Patrick Walugembe, and Richard Kibombo
This report documents the impact of STF's School Environment Program (SEP). Conducated in 59 schools, the evaluation resulted in a "mixed bag" of outcomes, according to lead researcher Dr. Karusa Kirugu. For example, teachers sensitised under SEP were more likely to report feeling confident about talking to adolescents about sex and growing up, but not more likely to actually do so, when compared to those not sensitised by SEP. However, schools where SEP was implemented were more likely to have an adolescent-friendly environment compared to non-SEP schools. When interviewed, students in SEP schools did not notice significant changes as a result of their teachers being trained, aside from the formation of ST and YT clubs. Among the researchers' conclusions: SEP training may not have been intensive enough to be felt by the students. The researchers also recognised that STF was implementing this work among a "glut" of other HIV efforts in schools, so its impact was difficult to discern.

6. Straight Talk Campaign in Uganda: Parent Survey
by Karusa Kiragu, Cathy Watson, Medard Muhwezi, Ann Akia-Fiedler, Richard Kibombo, Tobey Nelson, and Milka Juma
To evaluate STF's approach for fostering parent-child communication, the United-States-based NGO Horizons and STF research teams interviewed 678 mothers and fathers with adolescents between 10 and 19 years of age. In short, the study found that parents are an important audience for STF materials - with about 60% having been exposed (mostly to local language STF radio shows). However, organisers find that parents still need considerable help talking to their children about ASRH issues. More positively, there was a direct correlation between parental exposure to STF materials (residing in a high-intensity district) and the parent having talked with the child: 56% of those in high-intensity districts had had such a talk, compared to 40% of those in low-intensity districts.

RESOURCES

7. Using Radio to Help Communities Talk: A Manual for Community Dialogue
Published by STF, this manual is about how to use radio for encouraging community dialogue and exploring various stages of creating programming.

MEDIA COMPONENTS

8. Straight Talk Newsletter
For secondary school adolescents and youth aged 15-24. Print run, in English, is 260,000 copies per issue, 10 issues a year. Key messages include: know your body, understand your emotions, wait or use condoms, and a focus on life skills and health care. Most recent issue online - June 2007 - click here to download a PDF of the most current online issue.

9. Young Talk Newsletter
For adolescents, aged 10-14, in primary school. Print run, in English, is 430,000 copies per issue, 10 issues a year. Key messages include: abstain know your rights, stay in school. Most recent issue online - May 2007 - click here to download a PDF of the most current online issue.

10. Local Language Newsletters
For out-of-school youth. Print run, in 5 languages (Ateso, Luganda, Runyankore, Runyoro/Rutoro, and Lugbara), is between 80,000 and 150,000, depending on the language, 2 issues each per year. Key messages include: use condoms, seek STD treatment, and prevention of early pregnancy.

11. Parent Talk Newsletters
For parents. In 2006, print run: English - 100,000 per issue, 3 issues per year; 4 local languages - 50,000 per issue, 3 issues per year. Example topics addressed: develop your child’s literacy, empower the girl child. Identified challenge: low literacy levels in parents.

12. Youth Radio Shows
A weekly, 30-minute "entertainment-education" radio programme, also called "Straight Talk", is broadcast in 11 languages across Uganda. The objectives are: to reach in- and out-of-school adolescents with Straight Talk messages; to reach adolescents who cannot read or write; and to reach adolescents who have no access to Straight Talk newspapers. Click here for more information.

13. Parent Radio Shows
A weekly, 30-minute radio programme, also called "Parent Talk", airs in 6 languages: Luganda, 4Rs, Lukonzo, Lugbara, Lwo and Lumasaba. This is a relatively new development; an evaluation has not yet been implemented for this component.

14. Outreach and Training
STF's outreach and training initiatives include: training and sensitisation workshops for both primary and secondary school teachers on ASRH; training in peer education and club management for secondary school students; youth and parent clubs; health fairs for out-of-school youth; and parent dialogues within various communities across Uganda.
Click here for more information.

ADDITIONAL REPORTS

15. STF 2006 Annual Report [PDF]

16. Cost and Productivity Analysis of Straight Talk Foundation Programs [PDF]

===

To learn more about Straight Talk, please contact:

Straight Talk Foundation
Plot 4, Acacia Avenue
Kololo
P.O. Box 22366
Kampala, Uganda
Tel: +256 312 262030/1
Fax: +256 414 534858
strtalk@straight-talk.org.ug
STF website

===

Please VOTE in our most current HIV/AIDS Poll:

Do you think too much money is spent on specific AIDS issues at the cost of positive action on the main social factors that drive the epidemic? [VOTE, then COMMENT in the box provided]:

* Yes - to make progress we need more effort on the underpinning factors.
* No - HIV/AIDS needs an HIV-specific approach and the present balance is the correct one.
* Not sure - this is such a difficult issue, not sure what will work.
* Other - we need less emphasis on AIDS and more on other major health concerns.

VOTE and COMMENT - see the Top Right side of the website.

===

The Drum Beat seeks to cover the full range of communication for development activities. Inclusion of an item does not imply endorsement or support by The Partners.

Please send material for The Drum Beat to the Editor - Deborah Heimann dheimann@comminit.com

To reproduce any portion of The Drum Beat, click here for our policy.

To subscribe, click here - please note, this link will only work if you are NOT already a logged in/registered user of The CI.