A study on the role of AIDS mass communication: How do the mass media affect HIV testing behavior?

摘要

The present study shows how mass communication messages regarding HIV/AIDS affect HIV antibody testing behavior. Two surveys were carried out in 1995 and 1996, using face-to-face interviews. The area surveyed covered towns and wards within 30 km of the center of Tokyo. Subjects were male and female individuals 18 to 65 years old in 1995 and 17 to 59 in 1996. Samples were extracted by means of a two-step stratified random sampling of the basic town register. Completion rates were 57.3% (N = 1099) in the 1995 survey and 52.2% (N = 630) in 1996. The variable "Exposure to mass communication on AIDS" together with the variable "Interest in AIDS issues" play vital roles in attitude formation toward HIV/AIDS and in decision making over HIV antibody testing. The mass media's AIDS coverage promotes HIV/AIDS prevention behavior by changing perceptions and attitudes.