Effect of Mass Media Exposure on HIV/AIDS Stigma Among Kenyan Women and Men

Abstract

In Kenya, stigma directly or indirectly continues to play a major role in spreading HIV/AIDS. Negative attitudes, perceptions, and discrimination toward people who are HIV positive or have AIDS can adversely affect their willingness to be tested and adhere to antiretroviral therapy. This study examined the effect of mass media exposure on HIV/AIDS stigma among men and women in Kenya. It uses retrospective cross-sectional data from the Kenya Demographic and Health Survey (KDHS) 2008/09, adjusting for weights and strata to account for its complex design. The study sample comprised women aged 15-49 (n = 3,811) and men aged 15-54 (n = 3,095) who agreed to voluntary counselling and testing for HIV. Among them, 8.34% of the women and 4.98% of the men tested positive for HIV. Women who consumed all forms of media (newspapers, magazines, radio, and television) represented 23.05% of the sample, while those who consumed none comprised 6.89% (F[2.77, 1053.35] = 24.3; p < 0.001); the results for men were  22.06% vs 1.31% (F[2.89, 1098.72]) = 17.84; p < 0.001). Women and men who consumed all media almost every day were 11% (AOR = 0.89; p < 0.05) and 25% (AOR = 0.75; p < 0.01), respectively, less likely to impute HIV/AIDS stigma than those who never consumed all forms of media. Those who consumed all media forms less than once a week were 48% (AOR = 0.52; p < 0.05), and those who consumed them almost every day were 21% (AOR = 0.79), p < 0.001) less likely to impute an HIV/AIDS stigma compared to those who never consumed any media sources. All media consumption, particularly reading newspapers/magazines, reduced HIV/AIDS stigma. The study concluded that all forms of media should build on and scale up such efforts to reduce the HIV/AIDS stigma that impedes Kenyans from protecting their health.