The sixth largest urban center in Uganda, Mbarara municipality, was the focus for this study on HIV intervention and internet use. Photo Credit: Flickr

Background

HIV/AIDS is a major health burden in sub-Saharan Africa, including Uganda. Despite a recent reduction of the number of HIV-infected individuals, HIV transmission remains a problem among Ugandan adolescents. Recent surveys suggest that about half of sexually active adolescents do not consistently use condoms, and that young people are less knowledgeable about HIV than they were 15 years ago.

Why was this Study Done?

The Internet has a number of characteristics that make it an attractive tool in health education and HIV prevention, especially for adolescents—including interactivity, privacy, the overlap between education and play, and the ability to individualize information based on an initial assessment of background conditions, interest, and knowledge.

It is also thought that despite these advantages, the Internet's potential in resource-poor settings with higher HIV infection rates and limited access to other health care resources has not been explored much. This study was done to gain some initial insights on the desired and actual use of the Internet to seek sexual health and HIV/AIDS information among adolescents in Uganda.

What did the Researchers do and Find?

They did a survey of 500 adolescent pupils randomly selected from five participating boarding schools in Mbarara, a small town in a rural part of Uganda. They asked three questions: To what extent are the adolescents exposed to computers and the Internet? Are they interested in accessing health information online? Who uses the Internet and how?

More than a third of all participants reported having used the Internet or computer to look up health information, and many had been looking for information on sexual health and HIV/AIDS.

Almost half of the participants said they had used the Internet at least once, and the majority said they had been online during the previous week. Most Internet users (82 percent) reported going online at school; 57 percent said they use Internet cafes, 17 percent access the Internet at home; and 11 percent at someone else's house.

More than a third of all participants reported having used the Internet or computer to look up health information, and many had been looking for information on sexual health and HIV/AIDS. About two-thirds of the participants said that if Internet use were free, they would search for information on sexual health and HIV/AIDS prevention.

The researchers analyzed the responses further to identify the most influential factors in whether one of the Internet users would go online to educate themselves about HIV/AIDS. They found that those participants who used the Internet more often and those who engaged in online activities like chat rooms, games, and e-mail, were more likely to search for HIV/AIDS information. On the other hand, those who went online only at school were less likely to do so.

What do these Findings Mean?

Approximately the same proportion as young people in the United States — roughly one-third — of adolescents in a rural setting in Uganda reported having used the Internet to look up health-related information. Moreover, another third said that they would go online to educate themselves about HIV/AIDS if Internet use was free. This study suggests that initiatives in Africa to improve online access for adolescents as well as to develop content tailored for young people in specific settings would make a difference in AIDS prevention.




The above article was an editor's summary of an open-access research report. To read the full report, see Internet Use Among Ugandan Adolescents: Implication for HIV Intervention

Reprinted with permission from PLoS Medicine.

To read another Global Envision article about the internet and HIV/AIDS intervention, see New Frontline in AIDS Awareness.



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