Victor Orozco and his team at DIME set out to determine if TV shows with a specific message—or "edutainment"—can be an impactful and widespread way to change behavior (in this instance, specifically to reduce risky sexual behavior among youth). The team ran a study where participants were randomized to watch either an episode of the MTV show "Shuga" where Weki, a main character, is revealed to be HIV-positive and his teammates' parents force him to be removed from the team, or a program where the subject matter was more benign.
The intervention worked. Over eight months later, for viewers of the "Shuga" episode, HIV testing doubled, the number of men with multiple sexual partners was halved, and chlamydia infections for women were halved.
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