Steinhardt’s Shaw Brings HIV Prevention into the Digital Age

By Timothy Farrell

Josh is a young gay man living in Manhattan who had unprotected sex. And according to research, his story is startlingly effective in motivating other gay men to have safer sex and to get tested for HIV.
    But Josh isn’t even real—he’s the fictional star of “HIV Is Still a Big Deal,” a groundbreaking online video series found at www.hivbigdeal.org. Reinventing HIV prevention for the digital age, the series uses the power of research-based education methods to challenge misconceptions and prompt critical thinking.
    The series is a unique collaboration between two project directors from the very different fields of epidemiology and learning theory. The directors are Francine Shuchat Shaw, a faculty member in the Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development and a veteran researcher in learning theory and educational media, and Mary Ann Chiasson, an epidemiologist and vice president for research and evaluation with Public Health Solutions, a nonprofit research and community health organization. They designed the series, says Shaw, to promote critical thinking among men who could relate to the plight of the protagonist. Shaw, influenced by social learning theory and cognitive learning theory, wants the viewer to identify with Josh, a victim of his own misconceptions about HIV. By watching Josh work through a difficult experience, she says, viewers will learn vicariously.
    Since its launch in June, the site has been visited by more than 10,000 viewers in more than 130 countries. The first episode, “The Morning After,” was evaluated for its effectiveness in changing behavior using baseline and follow-up surveys with a group of 500 men. The results showed that the men were three times more likely to disclose their HIV status and about one-and-a-half times more likely to get tested for HIV three months after seeing the video.
    Realistic and riveting, the first two episodes follow Josh as he deals with the social and health-related dilemmas gay men face—from online hookups and unprotected sex to disclosing HIV status and getting tested. New episodes will launch later this year. In order to ensure widespread viewing of the series, the first episode of “HIV Is Still a Big Deal” is also available on YouTube, MySpace, and other popular sites that host online video.

HIV video producer Francine Shuchat Shaw in her editing room.