The Ability of the AIDS Quilt to Motivate Information Seeking, Personal Discussion, and Preventative Behavior as a Health Communication Intervention

Abstract

A Solomon 4-group-design-style field experiment examined the ability of the NAMES Project Foundation's AIDS Memorial Quilt (AIDS Quilt) to motivate information seeking, personal discussion, and behavioral outcomes among those who viewed it. Results indicate that the AIDS Quilt intervention explained significant differences in information-seeking motivations and information-seeking behavior. Information-seeking motivation positively predicted actual information-seeking behavior, which in turn predicted increased discussion and decreased risky behavior. Information-seeking motivation in itself did not predict discussion or behavior. The results suggest that campaigns designed primarily to increase information-seeking motivation can result in desired behavioral outcomes.