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Selling safe sex to young people - does youth-targeted social marketing work?

Young people in sub-Saharan Africa often lack accurate information about sexuality and reproductive health. Social attitudes towards sex make it difficult for them to protect themselves against pregnancy and HIV. How can health promotion programmes increase young people’s self-confidence in their ability to obtain and use contraceptives? Can youth-oriented social marketing improve their knowledge and attitudes towards contraception?

Researchers from Population Services International, USA, tested youth-targeted social marketing in Botswana, Cameroon, Guinea and South Africa. Overall, these short interventions were most effective for young women. They also had a greater impact on young people’s awareness of the benefits of contraception than on their perception of risk or actual behaviour.

The programmes targeted young people aged 13-22 in urban areas. Each of the four interventions, which lasted from eight to thirteen months, was added to an existing nation-wide social marketing program. They relied to different degrees on mass media, social or sports events, peer education and youth-friendly contraceptive services. Young people took part in the design and implementation of all the projects.

Of the four countries, the programme in Cameroon was the most successful. As a result of the intervention, young people in Cameroon:

are aware of the benefits of sexual protection
experience fewer barriers to safer sex
feel more empowered to deal with sexual issues
are less likely to have sex before they are 15 (women)
have fewer sexual partners (men)
are more likely to use abstinence or condoms.

What distinguished the program in Cameroon from the others was that it lasted longer and was the only one in which mass media and interpersonal communication were able to reach a substantial proportion of the population. The results of this study suggest that social marketing programmes targeting youth are most likely to be effective if they:

involve an intensive effort lasting at least two to three years
include a carefully designed mix of mass media promotion and face-to-face communication
are based upon a better understanding of the sexual health concerns of men
use communication strategies which reduce the stigma associated with condom use
involve young people in the design of the programme under expert guidance and facilitation to maintain a focus on critical issues.

Source(s):
‘Social marketing for adolescent sexual health. Results of operations research projects in Botswana, Cameroon, Guinea, and South Africa’ by L. Asford, report from Population Reference Bureau and Population Services International, Washington D.C. (2000)
‘An evaluation of adolescent sexual health programs in Cameroon, Botswana, South Africa, and Guinea’ by S. Agha, PSI Research Division Working Paper 29, Population Services International, Washington D.C. (2000)
‘An evaluation of the effectiveness of targeted social marketing to promote adolescent and young adult reproductive health in Cameroon’ by R. Van Rossem and D. Meekers, AIDS Education and Prevention 12 (2000)

Funded by: US Agency for International Development

id21 Research Highlight: 25 January 2001

Further Information:
Sohail Agha
Population Services International
1120 19th Street, NW, Suite 600
Washington, DC 20036
USA

Tel: +1 202 785 0072
Fax: +1 202 785 0120
Contact the contributor: generalinfo@psiwash.org

Population Services International

Lori Ashford
Population Reference Bureau
1875 Connecticut Avenue, NW, Suite 520
Washington, DC 20009
USA

Tel: +1 202 483 1100
Fax: +1 202 328 3937
Contact the contributor: measure@prb.org

Population Reference Bureau

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