AEGiS-BKREV: AIDS: A Communication Perspective

AIDS: A Communication Perspective

Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Publishers, 365 Broadway, Hillsdale, NJ 07642. 236p., illus., bibliog., index. (Communication) ISBN 0-8058-0998-8. $49.95. (Contributors to this volume: Sandra Metts, Illinois State Univ.; Mary Anne Fitzpatrick, Univ. of Wisconsin; Yoshihisa Kashima, La Trobe Univ., Australia; Cynthia Gallois, Univ. of Queensland; Malcolm McCamish, Univ. of Queensland; Timothy Edgar, Univ. of Maryland; Mara B. Adelman, Northwestern Univ.; Vicki S. Freimuth, Univ. of Maryland; Ivana Markova, Univ. of Stirling, Scotland; Kevin Power, Univ. of Stirling, Scotland; Charles T. Salmon, Univ. of Wisconsin; Fred Kroger, Centers for Disease Control; Paula Michal-Johnson, Villanova Univ.; Sheryl Perlmutter Bowen, Villanova Univ.; James W. Dearing, Michigan State Univ.; Everett M. Rogers, Univ. of Southern California; Matthew P. McAllister, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State Univ.)
Edited by Timothy Edgar, Mary Anne Fitzpatrick, Vicki S. Freimuth. 1992.

A cure for AIDS is still in the future with prevention the primary thrust at this time in the communities. It has been shown that individuals will take the necessary actions for prevention only when "(a) they are properly informed and (b) they feel motivated to respond to the information they possess." This communication about AIDS is a non-stop process because slowing the information only a fraction results in individuals falling back into their old ways of unsafe sex. Much research is being conducted on how better to communicate and how better to educate. "The specific purpose of the book is to examine how theory informs our understanding of communication processes as they relate to the AIDS crisis in the United States and other parts of the world." Chapter one covers safer sex with the advice of "know your partner." The authors center their discussion around sexual scripts and how they communicate. The next two chapters cover the use of condoms and chapter four has the title "Healthy Passions: Safer Sex as Play." These four chapters form the groundwork for the rest of the book. The six following chapters cover such topics as AIDS media campaigns, audience response to health messages about AIDS, the National AIDS Information and Education Program as an example of a systems approach to AIDS communication, culture in HIV education, AIDS and the media agenda, and "AIDS, Medicalization, and the News Media."

These are serious, well-researched articles showing the power of communication and how information on AIDS is brought to the attention of the public. They also indicate whether or not those who are being targeted, really comprehend what is being told. It is interesting to read that the medical profession and its publications have loosened up what appears in the general publications that the layperson reads by using terms that until now were not allowed or were considered offensive. This is particularly true when it comes to talking about sex, safer sex, and gay sex. All in all this is an excellent overview of how communication is helping but it also shows that, unless the targeted individuals read and understand, all the communication in the world will go on deaf ears. This book certainly shows that when it comes to AIDS, nothing should stand in the way of education, not even the church. A highly recommended book for all libraries. (H. Robert Malinowsky)

Keywords: Prevention, Health Risk Communication, Health Behavior, Safer Sex, Condoms, Education)

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Copyright © 1993 - The University of Illinois at Chicago. All materials in the journal are subject to copyright by the Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois and may be reprinted or redistributed for the noncommercial purpose of scientific or educational advancement granted by Sections 107 and 108 of the Copyright Revision Act of 1976. For other reprinting, redistribution, or translation, address requests to H. Robert Malinowsky, University of Illinois at Chicago Library, PO Box 8198, Chicago, IL 60680 or electronically to hrm@uic.edu.

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