Italian Governmental Media Campaigns to Prevent HIV/AIDS: An Effectiveness Study

This project consisted of a longitudinal scenario analysis of public health media campaigns aimed at preventing AIDS transmission over the past 20 years. Subsequently, we conducted a survey, funded by the Italian Ministry of Health, to independently verify the social impact of one of these campaigns. Our analysis shows that media attention has waned, even if today, there are more than 120,000 people with HIV/AIDS living in Italy and 100 new cases are diagnosed each day. These data highlight the importance of returning the issue to the top of the public health and media agendas. Results from the national survey (n=500, male and female respondents, 15-59 years old) showed that while the ministerial campaign examined effectively returned HIV/AIDS to the public spotlight and promoted condom use as prevention, it was not designed according to social marketing principles. It lacked a specific objective, clear target, effective language, a rational dissemination and integration strategy, and it overestimated current public awareness of the issue. This resulted in public misunderstanding regarding the source and purpose of the campaign and poor memorability of the message. This survey also showed a discrepancy between self-reported AIDS literacy and actual knowledge on the issue in the public.