Using Entertainment Education to Promote Self-efficacy and Aspirations among Young Malawians: the Tisankhenji Radio Program

Background: Sexual activity begins early in Malawi and the HIV prevalence is high, particularly among young women ages 15-24. Enhancing self-efficacy, encouraging open communication and promoting goal-setting can influence young people to make positive choices that can, in turn, affect their risks for HIV. One approach for empowering young people to make healthier choices is entertainment education. Methods: Tisankhenji was an entertainment education radio program designed to increase self-efficacy, encourage open discussion, promote career goals, and education aspirations among young girls in Malawi. The impact of Tisankhenji was assessed using a post-only, treatment-control quasi-experimental design. Self-administered surveys collected from boys and girls in randomly selected treatment schools (n = 709), were compared to similar data collected from control schools (n = 696). Linear regression analyses tested the hypothesis that exposure to the Tisankhenji radio program, after controlling for demographic differences, would be associated with increased self-efficacy, open discussions, career aspirations, and educational attainment goals. Results: Program exposure was significantly associated with increased selfefficacy to attain an education, and to engage in discussions with parents, teachers and elders about career plans and HIV prevention (P < .001). Program exposure was also associated with having had discussions about career plans (P < .001), with career aspiration intentions (P < .01), and with educational attainment goals (P < .01). Conclusions: This study suggests that cognitive and behavioral skills can be enhanced through an entertainment education approach, and schools may provide an ideal intervention setting. Young people, and specifically young girls because of their increased vulnerability to HIV/AIDS, must continue to be targeted with theoretically-based interventions.