WHAT YOUNG MALAYSIANS SAY ABOUT HIV/AIDS

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WHAT YOUNG MALAYSIANS SAY ABOUT HIV/AIDS

• Professor Dr. Sarinah WY Low, Ph.D
• Professor of Psychology
• Health Research Development Unit (HeRDU)
• University of Malaya Medical Center
• Kuala Lumpur

National Advocacy Seminar for Media on HIV/AIDS
Prevention Langkawi, 7-8th July 2006
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Introduction

• HIV/AIDS ? most challenging disease threat in
  modern times (fatal, no cure uncertain window
  period potential for spreading infections by
  carrier)
• Majority of HIV infections globally are due to
  sexual transmission. Is this true for Malaysia
  ???
• Due to the crisis nature of HIV/AIDS pandemic,
  efforts in fighting this disease should be
  intensified through Education / media
  campaigns, Changing the social / physical
  environment and Enforcement / Legislation (where
  necessary).
• Apart from Government, NGOs the community, the
  media is very important in helping to curb the
  spread of HIV/AIDS because it can affect anybody.

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Reported new HIV infections, AIDS cases, and
AIDS death in Malaysia

• An average of 500 to 600 reported cases/month.
• More than 7,000 have died

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Reported cumulative HIV cases by risk categories
in Malaysia, 1986-2002

• Of total reported cases, 76 IDUs
• Ie. sharing needles
• Heterosexual (12)
• unprotected sex
• multiple sexual partner

Together they account for 88 of HIV infections!
Ministry of Health, 2004
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Persons living with HIV/AIDS in Malaysia
1990,1995 and 200571,000 infectors !
Persons living with HIV/AIDS
Source Ministry of Health 2003
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Reported HIV infections by ethnicity and risk
factors in Malaysia, 2002

• Majority Malays and Indians get it from IDUs
• Most Chinese Malaysian- get it from heterosexual
  route

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Age-group distribution of new HIV/AIDS and cases
in Malaysia, 2003
Distribution of new HIV and AIDS cases in Malaysia, 2003 Distribution of new HIV and AIDS cases in Malaysia, 2003 Distribution of new HIV and AIDS cases in Malaysia, 2003 Distribution of new HIV and AIDS cases in Malaysia, 2003 Distribution of new HIV and AIDS cases in Malaysia, 2003 Distribution of new HIV and AIDS cases in Malaysia, 2003 Distribution of new HIV and AIDS cases in Malaysia, 2003 Distribution of new HIV and AIDS cases in Malaysia, 2003 Distribution of new HIV and AIDS cases in Malaysia, 2003 Distribution of new HIV and AIDS cases in Malaysia, 2003
Age Groups New HIV cases No. New HIV cases No. New AIDS cases No. New AIDS cases No. Cumulative HIV No. Cumulative HIV No. Cumulative AIDS No. Cumulative AIDS No.
lt13 13-19 20-29 30-39 40-49 50 unknown 61 78 2192 2819 1246 304 56 0.90 1.15 32.45 41.73 18.44 45.0 0.83 19 4 210 485 255 97 6 1.77 0.37 19.52 45.07 23.7 9.01 0.56 464 902 21295 24791 8281 1596 683 0.8 1.55 36.71 42.73 14.27 2.75 1.18 134 190 1727 3723 1882 609 29 1.62 2.29 20.82 44.89 22.69 7.34 0.35
TOTAL Total 6756 100 1076 100 58012 100 8294 100
Source Ministry of Health Malaysia, 2004 Source Ministry of Health Malaysia, 2004 Source Ministry of Health Malaysia, 2004 Source Ministry of Health Malaysia, 2004 Source Ministry of Health Malaysia, 2004 Source Ministry of Health Malaysia, 2004 Source Ministry of Health Malaysia, 2004 Source Ministry of Health Malaysia, 2004 Source Ministry of Health Malaysia, 2004 Source Ministry of Health Malaysia, 2004
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The Study Protecting Young Malaysians from
HIV/AIDS and STIs

• Assess the knowledge, Attitudes and Behavior of
  young people on HIV/AIDS and STIs prevention
• Assess the capacity of family life educators and
  peer group members

Commissioned Consultants Sponsored
FFPAM Tey Nai Peng UNFPA
Low Wah Yun Mary Huang
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Methods

• Questionnaire Survey ? self-administered
• Young people (6,564)
• Family life educators (86) peer group members
  (251)
• Qualititative study (focus groups) ? family life
  educators (7 FGDs 61) peer group members (10
  FGDs 91)

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Respondents characteristics

• Kelantan (1874), Melaka (1,668), Penang (2,982)
  Langkawi (193)
• 6,564 young people ? primary (393), secondary
  school (5,426) students, higher learning
  institutions (681), factory workers (51), Pusat
  Serenti (13)
• 82 between 13- 18 years (median 15 yrs)
• Females (4,198) gt males (2,366)

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Percent of youths who have heard of HIV and STIs
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Mean score on the knowledge of HIV transmission
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Percent who provided incorrect response to the
modes of HIV transmission
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• 55 respondents ? HIV person can be identified
• 47 respondents ? HIV can be cured
• Unaware of the consequences of unprotected sex
• 32.7 STIs
• 27.1 unwanted pregnancy
• 18.5 HIV
• Young people most likely to mention that parents
  (86.3), followed by health workers (76.8),
  friends (69), schoolmates (64.3) as persons
  whom they turn to for help from risky behavior

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From where they obtained Information on HIV/AIDS
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Sources of Information on HIV/AIDS and STIs
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Preferred Sources of Information
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Access to IEC and training materials on HIV/STIs
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Sources of IEC materials on HIV/AIDS
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Sources of training materials on HIV/AIDS
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Percent who felt that they have sufficient
knowledge to protect young people from HIV and
STIs
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WHAT YOUNG PEOPLE WANT?

• Improving knowledge on HIV/AIDS among the youths
  and educators
• Knowledge tends to be superficial
• Not aware of specific modes of transmissions?
  myths and misconceptions about disease ?
  perpetuate stigma discrimination
• Need to educate young people teach them life
  skills ? negotiation, conflict resolution,
  critical thinking, decision-making
  communication, improve self-confidence ability
  to make informed choices, postponing sex until
  they are mature
• Increasing knowledge thro schools, communities,
  media

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Putting knowledge into practice Life skills

• Self-discipline. Now, they know that is wrong
  and then sometimes the need is there. So, what
  am I going to do? Well, think of the
  consequences, may be, they dont or they know
  also, if I do this, but thenam the self
  discipline is not strong enough, you know
• Personal weaknesses could be like we ourselves
  are
• not open minded or we ourselves felt that we
  dont
• have enough skill, your own values, you know,
  unconsciously, you sort of pass over your
• own values to the other person

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• Improving the IEC materials and sources of
  information
• Some aspects of HIV/AIDS are not known or
  understood by young people
• Many do no have access to IEC and training
  materials on the disease
• There is a need to improve materials and make
  them widely available

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• Printed materials ? animated, contains lots of
  humor, entertaining, and should also contained
  articles and stories in Youth section of any
  newspapers or magazines for young people, eg. in
  the Didik section, Galaxie, Seventeen, Gila-Gila,
  Cleo, etc.
• Electronic materials ? simple and short,
  meaningful, and should be made available during
  commercial slots in the televisions. It should
  also be linked up with MTV station, cartoon
  network, Star World, AXN, Radio-Hitz.Fm or Mixed
  FM.

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• Strengthening the capacity of FLE educators and
  peer group members
• Interactions with young people play an important
  role in creating greater awareness and sharing of
  knowledge on HIV/AIDS with friends
• Need to recruit and retain more FLE educators and
  peer group members
• Using various IEC/BCC channels to affect
  behavioral change
• Inability of young people to see themselves as
  being vulnerable
• Need to create a greater sense of urgency to
  combat this disease
• Emphasize the importance of interesting and
  fun-filled activities to affect behavioral change
  amongst young people ? youth friendly IEC/BCC
  package

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Importance of Peer Educators

• Rakan sebaya, bagi saya, mudah untuk membuat
  perbincangan. Dibandingkan dengan ibu bapa,
  pemikian mereka lain. Dengan rakan sebaya,
  komunikasi lebih senang dan selesa
•  
• Because peer members can communicate better and
  are more understanding with each other, there are
  no problems with generation gap, and they are
  important in spreading information and are
  usually accepted by peer members
• Biasanya dan kebanyakan umur manjadi gap. It
  is hard to communicate. Oleh itu, perlu cari
  umur yang sesuai untuk memberi khidmat nasihat.
  Maksud saya, cari remaja yang ada knowledge
  untuk berbincang

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• Reaching out and encouraging the involvement of
  young people
• More innovative and interesting ways to create
  awareness and empowering young people ? youth
  camps, drama, PROSTAR activities, outreach
  programs, co-curriculum activities, school clubs
  and societies, community programs, private sector
  (factories)
• Involve more young people in planning, organizing
  and implementing of various activities
• Need to identify target groups for intervention
  with appropriate programs and strategies
• Conduct training and counseling sessions on
  family life, reproductive health and HIV/AIDS to
  participants of National Service, Rakan Muda, Boy
  Scouts, St. Johns

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• Promoting and encouraging the involvement of
  parents, health care providers, teachers
  communities
• Most young people have cited parents, health care
  providers and teachers as persons whom they can
  turn to for help form risky behavior.
• They need the support of adults participation as
  educators in HIV/AIDS among the general
  population by discussion these issues via forums
  within the broader scope of reproductive health,
  health lifestyles, positive values, family well
  being and social development.
• There is a need to develop strategies, programs
  and activities targeted at parents (eg.
  parent-teachers association, social clubs),
  health care providers and teachers

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Parents played an important role in educating
and empowering young people

•  
• Sometimes parents must be open. Family also
  need
• to have a knowledge because mereka lagi dekat
  dengan anak-anak. Remaja dan keluarga penting
  dalam memberi ilmu kepada remaja dalam
  menyelesaikan masalah dan memberi panduan kepada
  mereka
• untuk menyelesaikan masalah

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• Strengthen partnerships multi-sectoral
  collaboration between government agencies, NGOs,
  civil societies including faith based
  organizations, private sectors and the community
  
• Media to play a greater role in getting the
  preventive messages across
• Remaja banyak tengok TV dan sebagainya.
  Contoh, Akademi Fantasia, masuklah mesej.
  Selitkan dalam muzik juga. Biar dia orang yang
  sampaikan maklumat tentang hal ini.

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CONCLUSIONS

• Young people ? center of epidemic in terms of HIV
  transmission, vulnerability, impact and potential
  for change
• Young people has the right to youth-friendly
  information, skills and services for HIV
  prevention
• Young people are not only the beneficiaries of
  interventions, but also key resource in the
  planning, design and implementation of programs
• Need to scale up efforts in meet the urgent needs
  of young people

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Young people are and will remain at the front
lines of combating the global AIDS pandemic,
however, we can and must do more. We must be
bold and assume leadership in breaking the
conspiracy of silence and shame that drives AIDS
underground and stigmatizes PLWHA Youth
position paper on the 2001 United Nations
General Assembly Special Session on HIV/AIDS
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THANK YOU