Jennifer Youngs -Health Theory Paper #3- Diffusion of Innovations Theory 1

Your name: Jennifer Youngs Class: HSC 3208 Health Education Foundations-CRN 10243 Behavior Change Model: Diffusion of Innovations Theory (DOI) Author (s): Jane T. Bertrand Article Date: 2004 Date Article summarized: April 10, 2014 Title of Article: Diffusion of Innovations and HIV/AIDS Publication: published by Journal of Health Communication, Volume 9: 113–121, 2004 Copyright Taylor & Francis Inc. Behavior Change Model utilized: Diffusion of Innovations Theory (DOI)

Purpose: The purpose of the Diffusuin of Innovations Theory (DOI), in this article, is to use it as a framework

for HIV and AIDS prevention (Bertrand) . The DOI outlines how a new innovation, practice, object, or idea filters

through a social structure over a period of time, and eventually becomes a social norm (Sharma). It is similar to the

Transtheoretical Model in that it adds a time-dimension to behavior change.

Methodology: The DOI was established by Gabriel Tarde, a French sociologist, in the early 1900s ( Sharma).

According to E.M Rogers, “The Diffusion of Innovations theory is characterized by four elements: an innovation,

communicated via certain channels, over a period of time, to members of a social system (Rogers)”. The hallmark

of the Diffusion of Innovations Theory is that it encompasses the dissemination of the innovation and its adoption by

people in a community in a systematic manner (Sharma). There are many independent variables that contribute to the

effectiveness of the DOI. For example, when evaluating the first construct, which is the innovation itself, one must

consider the following: perceived advantage or perception that the new idea is better than the one it will replace;

compatibility or the perception that the idea is consistent with the values of the potential adopters; complexity, or

perception of the degree to which one understands how to utilize the innovation; demonstratibility or degree in

which it can be experimented with; clarity of results, which evaluates if the outcomes are easily seen; costs, both

tangible and untangible as a result of the innovation adoption; reversibility, which refers to ability to reinstate the

pervious method while halting the new one; pervasiveness, which is how much an innovation requires adjustments,

and reinvention, which refers to the ability of an individual to modify the innovation to accommodate his or her own

preferences (Sharma). Although this article was written in 2004, it refers to members of the gay community in

San Fransisco in the 1980s, who mobilized to educate and persuade others to practice safer sex to help eliminate

the transmission of HIV/AIDS (Bertrand). Bertrand stated that this mobilization led to one of the most effective

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HIV/AIDS prevention programs to date, and the campaign was known as STOP AIDS (Bertrand). The second

contruct, communication channels, refers to the technique in which the new information or message is conveyed

between the innovators and the potential adpotors (Sharma). In this article, STOP AIDS advocates utilized all

three types of communication channels: mass media, interpersonal channels, and interactive channels. They

used focus groups, outreach workers, group meetings, media campaigns, word of mouth , and other various

techniques (Bertrand). The third construct for the DOI theory is time, and this construct can take days to years

to be fully adopted (Sharma). The time construct includes a five-step decision process: gaining knowledge about

the innovation; persuasion about the innovation; deciding to adopt or reject it; implementing it; and

confirmation, which includes accepting the final adoption of the innovation or denying it (Sharma). In this case,

the article suggests that the implementation of the innovation to have protected sex, monogamous partners, or to

abstain from sex, has taken many many years, and is still an ongoing process. The last construct of the DOI

theory is the social system, in which people within a society are connected by a shared goal (Sharma). The

social system can be modified by using opinion leaders, social networks, and change agents just as they did in

the STOP AIDS campaign.

Results/conclusion: This campaign was effective in the eyes of STOP AIDS advocates. In 1987, advocates

declared victory, and stopped campaigning because “the rate of new infections dropped precipitously”

(Bertrand). The campaign was re-establlished in 1990 to encourage the younger generation to also practice safe

sex techniques, to once again, slow down the progression of HIV/AIDS transmission (Bertrand).

Critique (so what? Importance): The DOI has been utilized succesfully in several studies. It has been applied

in public health, as well as health promotion and education. Indications show that it is significant because it has

the power and foundation blocks to elicit successful behavior transformations. It does however, have some

limitations. Because new innovations can take time to diffuse through society, it may be better to utilize other

models or theories to see behavior change at a faster rate (Sharma). Another limitation is that a lot of

interventions such as this one, are aimed at lower socio-economic groups, and may not be acceptable for

everyone, which can cause a social gap (Sharma).

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References

Bertrand. (2004). Diffusion of Innovations and HIV/AIDS. Journal of Health Communication (9), 113–121.

DOI: 10.1080/10810730490271575

Rogers, E. M. (1995).Diffusion of innovations (4th ed.). New York, N.Y: Free Press.

Sharma, M., & Romas, J. (2012). Theoretical foundations of health education and health promotion (2nd ed.).

Sudbury, Ma.: Jones & Bartlett Learning.