Grassroot Soccer HIV/AIDS Education Program: An Intervention in Zimbabwe

This is an evaluation of the Grassroot Soccer HIV/AIDS Education Program, launched by Grassroot Soccer Foundation (GRSF) in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. The programme aimed to reduce the spread of HIV/AIDS by training adult soccer players to educate at-risk youth about HIV/AIDS. Implemented in 9 schools of Bulawayo, the initiative was geared toward 7th grade students who are considered at-risk of HIV infection in their community. Fourteen locally and nationally known soccer players, recognised role models for these students, were trained to be educators. To date, approximately 3,000 students have completed the programme.

The evaluation had the following objectives: (1) to assess the impact of the programme on student knowledge, self-efficacy beliefs, attitudes, and perceptions of social support; (2) to assess the degree to which the changes observed as a result of the programme were sustained over 5-month period; and (3) to determine student and teacher opinions about the programme and their ideas about programme improvement.

Data were collected through use of a specifically developed survey, which was administered to intervention and control groups of students from 4 of the participating schools (n=314); survey data were collected before programme education, after programme education, and 5 months after the programme was completed. The survey addressed student knowledge about HIV/AIDS, self-efficacy beliefs, perception of social support, attitudes related to HIV/AIDS, and feedback about the programme. In addition, analyses of student poems (written after the conclusion of the programme at the school) were conducted for students in the control and intervention groups at one of the schools. A focus group, including teachers and health administration officials, was conducted to get feedback about the programme and ways to improve it.

Results of this evaluation study showed that GRSF has developed and implemented an effective intervention programme for educating at-risk youth about HIV/AIDS and how they can protect themselves from HIV/AIDS. The 2-week education programme produced significant positive changes in student knowledge about HIV/AIDS, their attitudes towards HIV/AIDS prevention and prejudice against people with HIV/AIDS, and their perceived sense of social support. Students were more emotionally aware of the disease and mindful of preventive solutions. However, no significant changes were observed in students' sense of self-efficacy and control over the disease.

All positive changes observed were sustained over a subsequent 5-month period, except for the changes related to the role of condoms as prevention. According to the report, this might be due to other contradictory messages that students receive from their teachers or religious institutions. Results also suggest that participants show a sustained decrease in prejudicial attitudes towards people with HIV/AIDS (demonstrated by not avoiding people with HIV/AIDS); however, they did not show a sustained increase in their willingness to support people with HIV/AIDS. This might be explained by the socio-psychological fact that substantial time is needed to increase an individual's tendency to support people who are "different", in contrast to minimal time that is needed to reduce an individual's inclination to avoid people who are "different".

Both students and teachers were very satisfied with the programme. Participants expressed their willingness to use the knowledge learned. After 5 months, they report remembering and using the knowledge learned.

The document offers the following suggestions for further improvement:

• Review existing programme goals, especially those related to self-efficacy and control, and decide how relevant those goals are to the Zimbabwe culture or how achievable those goals are in a 2-week period;
• Add new goals and objectives. Results showed that students feel significantly more resourceful and supported as a result of the programme;
• Assure the sustainability of the programme, especially in areas that are subject to contradictory messages from other significant figures in communities or schools; and
• Include a teacher education component because it seems to be critical for the sustainability of results and support of the programme.