Ability of HIV Advocacy to Modify Behavioral Norms and Treatment Impact: A Systematic Review.
HIV advocacy programs are partly responsible for the global community's success in reducing the burden of HIV. The rising wave of the global burden of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) has prompted the World Health Organization to espouse NCD advocacy efforts as a possible preventive strategy. HIV and NCDs share some similarities in their chronicity and risky behaviors, which are their associated etiology. Therefore, pooled evidence on the effectiveness of HIV advocacy programs and ideas shared could be replicated and applied during the conceptualization of NCD advocacy programs. Such evidence, however, has not been systematically reviewed to address the effectiveness of HIV advocacy programs, particularly programs that aimed at changing public behaviors deemed as risk factors.



To determine the effectiveness of HIV advocacy programs and draw lessons from those that are effective to strengthen future noncommunicable disease advocacy programs.



We searched for evidence regarding the effectiveness of HIV advocacy programs in medical databases: PubMed, The Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature Plus, Educational Resources and Information Center, and Web of Science, with articles dated from 1994 to 2014. Search criteria. The review protocol was registered before this review. The inclusion criteria were studies on advocacy programs or interventions. We selected studies with the following designs: randomized controlled design studies, pre-post intervention studies, cohorts and other longitudinal studies, quasi-experimental design studies, and cross-sectional studies that reported changes in outcome variables of interest following advocacy programs. We constructed Boolean search terms and used them in PubMed as well as other databases, in line with a population, intervention, comparator, and outcome question. The flow of evidence search and reporting followed the standard Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses guidelines.



We selected 2 outcome variables (i.e., changing social norms and a change in impact) out of 6 key outcomes of advocacy interventions. We assessed the risk of bias for all selected studies by using the Cochrane risk-of-bias tool for randomized studies and using the Risk of Bias for Nonrandomized Observational Studies for observational studies. We did not grade the collective quality of evidence because of differences between the studies, with regard to methods, study designs, and context. Moreover, we could not carry out meta-analyses because of heterogeneity and the diverse study designs; thus, we used a narrative synthesis to report the findings.



A total of 25 studies were eligible, of the 1463 studies retrieved from selected databases. Twenty-two of the studies indicated a shift in social norms as a result of HIV advocacy programs, and 3 indicated a change in impact. We drew 6 lessons from these programs that may be useful for noncommunicable disease advocacy: (1) involving at-risk populations in advocacy programs, (2) working with laypersons and community members, (3) working with peer advocates and activists, (4) targeting specific age groups and asking support from celebrities, (5) targeting several, but specific, risk factors, and (6) using an evidence-based approach through formative research. Author conclusions. HIV advocacy programs have been effective in shifting social norms and facilitating a change in impact.



The lessons learned from these effective programs could be used to improve the design and implementation of future noncommunicable disease advocacy programs.
Bruno F. Sunguya is with the School of Public Health and Social Sciences, Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, and the Department of Community and Global Health, The University of Tokyo, Japan. Murallitharan Munisamy is with the College of Public Health Sciences, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand, and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and the London School of Economics and Political Sciences, London, England. Sathirakorn Pongpanich is with the College of Public Health Sciences, Chulalongkorn University. Junko Yasuoka and Masamine Jimba are with the Department of Community and Global Health at the University of Tokyo.
Bruno F
BF
Sunguya
Bruno F. Sunguya is with the School of Public Health and Social Sciences, Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, and the Department of Community and Global Health, The University of Tokyo, Japan. Murallitharan Munisamy is with the College of Public Health Sciences, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand, and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and the London School of Economics and Political Sciences, London, England. Sathirakorn Pongpanich is with the College of Public Health Sciences, Chulalongkorn University. Junko Yasuoka and Masamine Jimba are with the Department of Community and Global Health at the University of Tokyo.
Murallitharan
M
Munisamy
Bruno F. Sunguya is with the School of Public Health and Social Sciences, Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, and the Department of Community and Global Health, The University of Tokyo, Japan. Murallitharan Munisamy is with the College of Public Health Sciences, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand, and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and the London School of Economics and Political Sciences, London, England. Sathirakorn Pongpanich is with the College of Public Health Sciences, Chulalongkorn University. Junko Yasuoka and Masamine Jimba are with the Department of Community and Global Health at the University of Tokyo.
Sathirakorn
S
Pongpanich
Bruno F. Sunguya is with the School of Public Health and Social Sciences, Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, and the Department of Community and Global Health, The University of Tokyo, Japan. Murallitharan Munisamy is with the College of Public Health Sciences, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand, and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and the London School of Economics and Political Sciences, London, England. Sathirakorn Pongpanich is with the College of Public Health Sciences, Chulalongkorn University. Junko Yasuoka and Masamine Jimba are with the Department of Community and Global Health at the University of Tokyo.
Junko
J
Yasuoka
Bruno F. Sunguya is with the School of Public Health and Social Sciences, Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, and the Department of Community and Global Health, The University of Tokyo, Japan. Murallitharan Munisamy is with the College of Public Health Sciences, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand, and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and the London School of Economics and Political Sciences, London, England. Sathirakorn Pongpanich is with the College of Public Health Sciences, Chulalongkorn University. Junko Yasuoka and Masamine Jimba are with the Department of Community and Global Health at the University of Tokyo.
Masamine
M
Jimba
D015658:HIV Infections / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000523:psychology*; D015438:Health Behavior; D006293:Health Promotion / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006801:Humans; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care / Q000523:psychology; D012309:Risk-Taking; D020377:Self Efficacy; D012725:Sexual Behavior; D066262:Social Norms; D057545:Social Stigma