RESUMO
In north-east Thailand a five-act drama is broadcast on the village sound system to catalyse involvement in planning and carrying out AIDS prevention activities. Each community's own suggestions for an effective strategy are presented to the relevant government and nongovernmental agencies for endorsement and support.
PIP: The multisectoral AIDS prevention strategy (MAPS) was implemented in four northeastern provinces of Thailand where a very developed infrastructure for health, education, and social welfare exists. (MAPS entails use of integrated government and nongovernmental AIDS-related services to conduct community-defined initiatives.) An audio-drama was used to introduce MAPS at the community level. It included risks, precautions, local beliefs, and modes of personal interaction pertaining to prevention of the spread of AIDS. The five-act audio-drama was entitled On the Brink and was broadcast over each of the 43 communities' public address systems. It revolved around the needs of married women in relation to AIDS prevention and addressed how men and rural people in general are involved. The stages of the MAPS program were a pre-drama subdistrict meeting, a week of drama in the communities, a post-drama community meeting to discuss a community AIDS strategy, a post-drama subdistrict meeting to present and consolidate the strategy, and implementation of the strategy. Three teams implemented MAPS. The post-drama community meetings began with games and a quiz on AIDS with small prizes to encourage participation in discussions. Identified local HIV risk situations included brothels, cattle auctions, certain festivals during which prostitution occurs, and intravenous drug use among young men. The first priority identified in all the subdistricts was open and free availability of condoms (e.g., available where alcohol is sold). Other suggested interventions were publicity about the danger of commercial sex work and training for women whose husbands travel in developing sexual negotiation skills. During the post-drama subdistrict meeting, an AIDS implementation committee was chosen to coordinate AIDS prevention activities conducted by both the government and nongovernmental organizations' staff in the subdistrict.
