Design and Evaluation of a Drama-Based Intervention to Promote Voluntary Counseling and HIV Testing in a South African Community

The authors developed a drama-based intervention to promote voluntary counseling and testing (VCT) services in a peri-urban community in South Africa.

The researchers trained young adults in the community in HIV/AIDS and drama. Participants developed sketches to address perceived barriers to VCT. Over 12 months, 80 performances occurred in busy community settings. The investigators evaluated the intervention through changes in VCT uptake at the local clinic compared to comparable communities nearby.

After the intervention began in August 2003, the researchers observed a 172 percent increase in the uptake of VCT services in the intervention community. This was significantly greater than demand for VCT in either of the control communities during the same period (P"A structured, community-based education program based on drama can lead to substantial increases in the demand for VCT services in resource-limited settings," the authors concluded.

Back to other news for August 23, 2006