This film aims to encourage South African men living with HIV to start, and to stay on, HIV treatment. The story weaves together the lives of three men from Cape Town communities as they share how they were able to carry on with their lives and achieve personal goals after HIV diagnosis. From Now On addresses psychosocial barriers and uses affect-based messaging to promote HIV treatment uptake and adherence.
The intervention is motivated by a recognition that merely providing information about the benefits of treatment isn’t enough to promote linkage to care – many men delay starting HIV treatment despite knowing it is effective in slowing disease progression and reducing transmission risk. Research shows that affective factors – the emotions and feelings experienced by individuals – have a strong influence on decision-making. This intervention applies concepts from behavioural economics to create a context in which men’s HIV-treatment decisions are made with greater hope and positivity about the future. From Now On was designed to address fears experienced at the time of HIV diagnosis, and to counter the negative associations people make with HIV treatment.
– Brendan Maughan-Brown, Chief Research Officer, Southern Africa Labour and Development Research Unit, The University of Cape Town, South Africa
