Social Marketing research will be rolled
out at the end of September
5 cities to conduct research on HIV/AIDS-related stigma to
create Banyan Tree Project 2006 campaign message
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2005 -
San Francisco, Calif. – The National Capacity Building
Assistance Program will conduct research in five cities through
a network including A&PI Wellness Center, MAP for Health
in Boston, Asian Health Coalition of Illinois in Chicago,
Asian Pacific AIDS Intervention Team in Los Angeles and Life
Foundation in Honolulu. This unified data collection effort
will provide information essential to developing a timely
and relevant campaign message for Banyan Tree Project 2006,
which will reach A&PI communities throughout the country,
Hawai’i and Pacific Island Jurisdictions. The campaign
message, along with the Banyan Tree Project brand, will be
widely disseminated through public service announcements and
advertising materials.
The research has two components, a street intercept survey
of A&PI communities available in English, Vietnamese,
Thai and Traditional and Simplified Chinese and a focus group
of A&PI persons living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA). Both components
reflect current literature on HIV/AIDS-related stigma. The
survey is based largely on discussions which explain that
individuals with HIV/AIDS are stigmatized because their illness
is seen as deviant, the fault of the individual, contracted
through immoral behavior, contagious, and associated with
an undesirable form of death. The focus group is built from
focus group and qualitative findings from PLWHA, including
concerns about disclosure and public attitudes toward PLWHA,
social isolation and rejection and internalized stigma and
shame. By communicating with the broader A&PI community
and the specific A&PI community of PLWHA, this research
will collect comprehensive and culturally specific information
about the prevalence and impact of HIV/AIDS-related stigma.
The partner organizations conducting the community survey
and focus group will analyze the data and meet to formulate
key messages during a meeting scheduled for October 26, 2005.
After the key messages are formulated, the partnership will
seek input and feedback from the partnership’s national
leadership coalition and local stakeholders. The message will
be modified and strengthened through this process of communication
and exchange of ideas, increasing the potential for greater
impact.
Funded by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control & Prevention,
the Banyan Tree Project involves people across the U.S. and
from all walks of life – ordinary citizens, community
and religious leaders, corporate executives, celebrities,
elected officials and the media – to work together to
reduce the cycle of shame and discrimination involving HIV/AIDS
in A&PI communities. By informing, teaching and setting
a positive example, the Banyan Tree Project hopes to eliminate
barriers that delay or prevent access to HIV prevention and
care.
A&PI Wellness Center's mission is to educate, support,
empower and advocate for A&PI communities - particularly
A&PIs living with, or at-risk for HIV/AIDS. A&PI Wellness
Center is the oldest nonprofit HIV/AIDS services organization
in North America targeting A&PI communities around sexual
health and HIV/AIDS services.
WHO: The research participants
are A&PI communities and A&PIs living with HIV/AIDS.
WHAT: Community survey and focus
group discussion focusing on HIV/AIDS-related stigma
WHEN: September-October 2005
WHERE: San Francisco, Los Angeles,
Honolulu, Chicago and Boston
WHY: Accurate information is
essential to creating a timely and relevant anti-stigma message
for A&PI communities, which will be publicized through
television, radio and print media.
For more information on the Banyan Tree Project and A&PI
Wellness Center, go to www.banyantreeproject.org
or www.apiwellness.org.
You may also call Lori Higa, 415/292-3400 ext. 327.
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