| In
2004, a health communication organization called Nalamdana—meaning
“Are you well?” in Tamil—began collaborating
with the Government Hospital of Thoracic Medicine in Tambaram,
India, just outside Chennai. Are You Well has today evolved
into a leader in its field, using theater, music, and radio as
tools for HIV education, stigma reduction, and to promote an atmosphere
of healing. The key to success has been a close working relationship
between medical staff and artists. In conversation with the hospital’s
director, doctors, nurses, and counselors, Are You Well
devises brief interactive role-plays and longer evening plays
on issues relevant to people living with HIV and AIDS. The plays
entertain and generate goodwill among a particularly appreciative
and eager audience of hospital patients, and the project fills
a communication vacuum for up to 1,000 new patients who arrive
at the hospital each day.
 |
After
witnessing the program’s profound ability to enhance
communication, education, and health throughout the hospital
campus, Are You Well came up with another novel
idea: a cable radio program. Since 2007, they have operated
a state- of-the-art public address system known on campus
as Thendral—which means “breeze” in Tamil.
The name was suggested by patients themselves, recognizing
the cooling solace provided by basic human interaction on
radio. It is education in an entertaining format. Thendral
broadcasts for seven and half hours daily, six days a week,
in the hospital’s 18 Tuberculosis and HIV wards as
well as the out-patient area. It features hospital staff
as on-air personalities. |
Are You Well programming includes a
14-day curriculum, covering such topics as: What is HIV? What
do my medications do in my body? Why is drug adherence so important?
And how can I best handle the stigma of HIV/AIDS when I return
to my home village? One special component of the curriculum deals
with the psychosocial needs of HIV-positive women, who were not
initially as responsive to the program as men. These new inputs
come via the Mothers’ Voices curriculum devised by YRG Care,
Chennai and AIDS Project Los Angeles (APLA). Weekly support group
meetings for women have also been introduced in the recent past.
We are taking steps towards creating a replicable model for joint
medical/artistic AIDS intervention. A leading research agency
has evaluated the program model, revealing dramatic differences
between patients who do and do not receive this intervention.
Results showed: significant increases in knowledge regarding HIV
and TB transmission as well as treatment adherence; significant
decreases in stigma, both self stigma as well as stigma expressed
against others living with HIV and AIDS; sharp rise in quality
of life indicators; and importantly, the intervention resulted
in significant behavior change (actual and intended) with regard
to ART adherence, condom use, and personal advocacy such as peer-education
behaviors.
On a conservative basis, we estimate that these
programs reach over 33,000 new HIV and Tuberculosis (TB)
patients and over 30,000 caregivers annually, providing
over 220,000 patient-days of unique programming.
In the coming year we propose to demonstrate the effectiveness
of the Are You Well model at additional government hospitals
in Tamil Nadu and healthcare settings in neighboring states.
Credits:
Funding provided by UNAIDS, UNESCO, and the Ford Foundation,
with ongoing support from the Tamil Nadu State AIDS Prevention
and Control Society (TANSACS).
Special thanks to YRG Care and AIDS Project Los Angeles for training
in the Mothers’ Voices curriculum and WHO/SEARO and Positive
Women’s Network for the support group meetings for women.
Nithya Balaji is the founding director of Nalamdana. R. Jeevanandham
is the executive director. Madhu Jhona is coordinator of the project
on the GHTM campus.
For
more pictures on this project, please click here
|
|
