Efficacy of an HIV Testing Campaign's Messages for African American Women

Abstract

We conducted a Web-based randomized controlled experiment to test the efficacy of the Take Charge. Take the Test. (TCTT) campaign messages. The experiment had two conditions: (a) exposure to campaign messages and (b) no exposure. Participants completed a baseline assessment, exposure condition participants were exposed to campaign materials for 2 weeks, and all participants completed a follow-up survey at 2- and 6-weeks postbaseline. Multivariate results indicate that exposure to TCTT messages was associated with increases in key knowledge items targeted by the campaign, intentions to get tested for HIV, and increases in peer-to-peer communication about getting an HIV test.

KEYWORDS:

• campaign
• African American women
• HIV
• social marketing

Acknowledgments

This study was supported by contract 200-2006-F-18532 from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The findings and conclusions are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of CDC.

The authors would like to acknowledge the following members of the study team for their contributions to the development and implementation of the study: Michael Slater, Shelly Spoeth, Jennie Johnston, and Laura McElroy. We also appreciate Jo Ellen Stryker's critical review of the manuscript.

Notes

Note. All models include baseline control variables for prior exposure to HIV testing messages, false exposure to TCTT messages, unsuccessful delivery of full radio stimuli, and presence of children in the household.

*p < .05. **p < .01. ***p < .001 [95% confidence interval].