Improving HIV and STI responses through media and community engagement

HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in Western Australia are at their highest in 20 years. In response to this worrying escalation and the public need for accurate and balanced information about these diseases, the journalism department at Edith Cowan University, in partnership with the WA AIDS Council (WAAC), developed a pilot project that consisted of a series of media training and education programmes to enable WAAC staff to share information and stories with the media on HIV and STIs in a more confident and proactive way. The project offers a model framework for media and community engagement that can be applied to a broader range of health promotion and disease prevention issues.