The Role of Interpersonal Communication in Influencing Behavioral Responses to HIV and AIDS among Students in Secondary Schools in Nairobi County

Abstract

The basic question that this study set out to answer was why there are disparities between knowledge of HIV and AIDS and behavior change among the youth in Kenya. The overall objective of this study was to investigate how young people use interpersonal communication to perceive and anchor their self-protection from possible risks of HIV infection.

The Social Construction Theory guided the study. The study was conducted among students in public secondary schools in Lang'ata District, Nairobi County. The research design was mixed methods. Quantitative data was collected from a sample of 340 respondents using a self-administered questionnaire. Respondents for the survey were selected using multi-stage sampling technique. Qualitative data were collected from focus group discussions and key informants. Participants in the FGDs and the key informants were selected purposively. Ten FGDs each with eight participants were held while 10 key informants were interviewed.

Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to interpret the quantitative data obtained on variables relevant to the study objectives. The themes in qualitative data were interpreted using thematic analysis. The data collected were triangulated to enhance the reliability and validity of the results.

The study found that the youth used interpersonal communication to engage in discoursesthat generate meanings, interpretations and understanding of HIV and AIDS with their peers. The interpersonal discourses generated from a common stock of lay knowledge from which the youth made decisions about their behavioral responses to HIV and AIDS.

The study concluded that the HIV and AIDS preventive behaviors are not only the outcome of an individual decision but are "rational” decisions stemming from a blending of lay discourses juxtaposed with limited bio-medical knowledge. Therefore, interpersonal exchange is important in mediating mass media campaigns' influences on people's attitudes and beliefs.

The study recommended that media initiatives that are already objects of young people's exchanges be used as channels for disseminating HIV and AIDS preventive messages because they have a greater chance of becoming part of the youth's discourses.  The study recommends further research to establish the extent of interpersonal networks among the youth and how these networks impact on their behavior.