The Kenyan HIV/AIDS burden differs greatly among its various regions. There are 42 different ethnic groups each with its unique culture. Nyanza province, the home of the Luos shares the highest HIV/AIDs prevalence of 15.1% while in the North Eastern region, the home of Somalis is at 0.5%. Nyanza province is the home of the counties with the highest HIV/AIDs prevalence rates: Homabay-26%, Siaya 24.8%, Kisumu 19.9% and Migori 14.3% while Wajir county in Northern Eastern province has 0.4% prevalence rate. The HIV/AIDS burden also is greatest among females between 15-49 years. Culture and ethnicity are generally associated with risky sexual behaviour in relation to HIV/AIDs. Paradoxically, this relationship has not been deeply investigated within the Kenyan context. Therefore, set against the backdrop of HIV/AIDs scourge in Kenya, the need to understand cultural meaning related to this problem and how social marketing intervention can be appropriately used is a necessary study area. This study explores the link between culture and risky sexual behaviour in relation to HIV/AIDs, for the purpose of seeking situated understanding of the consequences and possible intervention strategies. It explores the contextual and cultural realities faced by intervention programmers using a social marketing approach in a multi-culturally rich environment as Kenya. A Qualitative approach is used to probe cultural and contextual realities faced by intervention programme leaders to understand the barriers and opportunities presented by context and culture to their work. Instruments of open-ended questions and qualitative interviews are used to provide in-depth insights of their experiences from their own point of views. The results greatly link contextual realities and tribal cultures to the spread of HIV/AIDs. The findings imply that cultures and context of a market or target audiences greatly impact on social marketing programmes. A good understanding of the two should indeed be the foundations that guide the planning, implementing, monitoring and evaluating of cultural specific social marketing initiatives, rather than the use of generic or blanketed campaigns. They should also guide the application of upstream, in-stream and downstream social marketing approaches. There is need for programmers and other stakeholders to invest in cultural competency to avoid culturally incongruence in decision-making, policies and programmes. More resources are necessary to change deprived contexts for successful programme work. The study makes important contributions to social marketing and related disciplines. Firstly, it suggests cultural context assessment composite model and culturalcontextual assessment model for use by social marketers. These models can greatly help programmers understand their target audiences’ cultural and contextual environments, in order to actively use this intelligence in social marketing programmes. Secondly the study contributes to an understanding of the Kenyan tribal groups’ culturally sensitive knowledge on sexual beliefs and practices that have impact on HIV/AIDS. This knowledge greatly contributes to an understanding of patterns of HIV transmission within the country, as the significant aspects of seven major and three minor Kenyan tribes, accounting for 81.22% of the Kenyan population, are well explored and discussed in this study. Lastly, the study makes important recommendations in relations to cultural and contextual aspects, which social marketers, policy makers, the government and other stakeholders can work on for more effective social marketing interventions.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:709796 |
| Date | January 2017 |
| Creators | Mutugi, Jackline Kendi |
| Publisher | University of East London |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Source | http://roar.uel.ac.uk/5815/ |
Page generated in 0.0019 seconds