The Impact of the Popular Media on Awareness: Aap Ki Antara
IMFAR, 21 May 2010, Philadelphia
Nidhi Singhal, PhD Tamara Daley, PhD Merry Barua
Action For Autism National Centre for Advocacy, Research, Rehabilitation and Training New Delhi, India
COI: None
Autism in India
Considered rare; an illness of modern civilization Delays and misdiagnosis
High use of pharmacological and alternate therapies:
Pranic healing, Reflexology, Astrology, Acupressure, Yoga, Ayurveda, Homeopathy
Lack of appropriate and adequate intervention centers
Schools not geared to meet special needs Significant economically disadvantaged population
Low awareness levels and high stigmatization
www.autism-india.org
Media Penetration
1998 2004 2005
Television sets Cable connections
70 million 105 million 119 million 25 million 52 million 62 million
Total television viewership: 415 million; amongst world's highest (CII-KPMG, 2007)
www.autism-india.org
June 2009: An Indian television network with a reach of about 120 countries and access to over 500 million viewers globally launched a nightly soap opera called Aap Ki Antara (Yours truly, Antara)
Each episode concluded with
Three minute 'testimonial' from a family member of a person with autism Number of a seven-hour telephone helpline (MonFri, 1pm8pm) Address for website of national Indian autism organization: Action for Autism
www.autism-india.org
Method
Selected a five-week sample period (Sep-Oct 09) after the initial launch Documented calls
Coded content and background data about caller/child Used website analytics to compare sample period and pre-launch period
www.autism-india.org
Documentation of basic information
a. Location of the caller b. Age of the person of concern
c. Sex of the person of concern
d. Relationship of caller to person of concern Additional information a. Purpose of the call b. Knowledge of autism prior to the serial c. Nature of services person of concern currently receives
www.autism-india.org
Results: Call Summary
During initial months: (JunAug 09) > 50 calls / day During the five week sample period: (SepOct 09) = 336 calls total Average of approx 15 calls / day
www.autism-india.org
Percentage 10 15 25 30 40
20
35
0 37.9 Mother 30.7 Father Grandparent 2.5 5.9 6.2 0.9 3.4 Other relative Non-relative 12.4 Aunt/uncle Sibling Self
Who is Calling
Location of Caller
Outside India, 1.9 West, 18.5 North, 38.9
(including Dubai, Nepal, Pakistan, Thailand, & Italy)
East, 17.9
Central, 16.4
South, 6.5
All figures are in percentage
Location of Caller
18 16
16.4 13.6 10.8 7.4 8
14
12 10 8 6
5.6
4 4 3.1 2.8 4 2.5
4.3 3.1 2.8 2.2 0.6 0.6 0.9 2.8 0.3 0.9 1.9
2 0
0.3
0.3 0.6 0.3
Reason for Call
Characteristics of Person of Concern
72% calls were about children who are male
Wide age range
2 months to 35 years Mean = 9.5 years (SD=6.7)
www.autism-india.org
Diagnosis
ASD MR, Down's Other (seizures, blind, brain damage) "Delay, slow, will be OK with age" CP 3.1 28.6 3.6 0 10 20 30 40 50 8.5 7.1 14.3 34.8
No diagnosis Don't know
Percentage
Services
Of the callers with a child diagnosed with autism
48% of children did not attend any school 36% attended a special school 16% attended a regular school
Awareness
65% of all callers reported that they were not aware of autism prior to watching Aap Ki Antara
www.autism-india.org
Website Traffic
During sample period (Sep Oct 09) site received 7,781 visits from: 129 countries and territories 79% of these were new visitors 42% of the visits were from India (79 cities) 27% were from the U.S. (51 states)
www.autism-india.org
Website Traffic
Compared to a five week period before show was launched (Apr May 09):
An increase of 35% total number of visitors An increase of 30% of first time visitors
97% increase in people accessing the site through direct entry of website address
www.autism-india.org
Implications
Television as a medium can be a powerful source for raising awareness
Includes penetration in rural areas where access to services is limited
Popularity of show independent of accuracy of portrayal
Can serve as a reference point Validation of personal experience
www.autism-india.org
Next Steps
Documenting awareness of AAK through intake information sheets Small awareness study on My Name is Khan Applied for funding for an IVR+phone counseling helpline Developing 30 second spots for TV and theaters
www.autism-india.org
Thank You!
Nidhi Singhal
[email protected]
[email protected]
Tamara Daley
[email protected]
Action For Autism
www.autism-india.org
