Thesis (BA Communication Arts) -- University of the Philippines Mindanao, June 2015.

Awareness among the youth in regards to HPV or the human papilloma virus is lacking. Due to this, the human papilloma virus or HPV is a class of viruses, and one of the most common STI's (sexually transmitted infections) that affect men and women. The nature of this particular infection is that it is one of the few known viruses that cause cancer, mostly of the cervix and uterus. Cervical cancer has been observed to be preventable if one is vigilant enough to take precaution in terms of sexual practices. There have been media campaigns that have been created to spread information and awareness regarding HPV. The vast majority of these has been geared to, and places a large responsibility on, women more than men. While we are not as physiologically affected as women, they mostly act as carriers, meaning that a woman who remains sexually monogamous but has a male partners, there is still a high risk of infection. The lack of awareness of this particular aspect of the disease is what causes the cases of cervical cancer to be on the rise. It has become necessary to study and produce media that places equal responsibility on both the male and female genders in regards to the awareness and prevention of HPV. To aid the study, the Health Belief Model and positivist/social constructivist views on gender were used along with the 7-step method and the data gathered in the FGD?s in order to create a video concept that is suited to the target audience. The main task would be to create a video that is formative, concise, and is appropriate for the target audience. In line with this objective, the study also conducted two sets of FGD?s one for men and one for women that are active social media users and belong to the 15-25 age range. The outcome of this study will hopefully promote health-positive behaviors in the target audience. The title of the video is Anong Kwento Nyo?, which is a variation of the question that the lead character, named Kitkat, says at the end of the video (?Kayo, anong tanong niyo?) The story follows Kitkat as she is diagnosed with genital warts. Other character in the story include her mother (unseen in the video but heard through a phone call), her best friend, Yvonne, and her ex-boyfriend Jepoy, who play important roles in how she deals with the diagnosis. It has been that her willingness to promote healthy behavior grew as her knowledge from her support system grew. Throughout the video, interviews with different key informant were shown as if the characters were watching them on TV and on their laptops?which then informs the audience about what HPV really is. The researcher encountered difficulties during shooting, mainly due to a lack of time and availability of FGD participants. The researcher recommends that there be other methods used to bring HPV awareness to the general public, and to use a more quantitative study in order to measure the awareness levl and then to design media materials accordingly.