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Brazil - Results
PMC has worked with TV Globo since 2000 to incorporate social and health issues into its telenovelas.
Recently, PMC specifically studied how Paginas da Vida (“Pages of Life”) impacted the lives of listeners and their viewpoints concerning family planning and Down syndrome.
The research was both quantitative and qualitative, and the results and outcomes will likely be useful in incorporating social and health messages into future Brazilian telenovelas.
Family Planning
Women were interviewed at family planning clinics throughout Brazil to determine if they had watched the program and what effect it had on their decision to seek reproductive health services. Among the women interviewed there was widespread viewership of the telenovela, and a total of 474 women were identified as viewers. Over 83% said they watched the program at least twice a week.
| Frequency of Viewing | Percentage |
|---|---|
| Daily | 41.35 |
| Three times per week | 28.06 |
| Twice per week | 13.92 |
| Rarely | 16.67 |
| Total | 100% |
| Number | 474 |
Additionally, about two-thirds of the women indicated they felt the program had influenced them to take steps to prevent unwanted pregnancy.
| Did the telenovela influence you with regard to family planning? | Age | Total | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18-24 | 25-29 | 30-34 | 35-39 | 40-49 | ||
| I learned that I should take care to prevent unwanted pregnancy (%) | 71.00 | 64.44 | 66.99 | 64.37 | 59.57 | 65.40 |
| No influence on my behavior (%) | 29.00 | 35.56 | 33.01 | 35.63 | 40.43 | 34.60 |
| Total | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% |
| Number, by age range | 100 | 90 | 103 | 87 | 94 | 474 |
Down syndrome
Both focus groups and surveys were used to assess the impact that Paginas da Vida had on the lives of the viewers and on their attitudes, behaviors and practices in relation to people with Down syndrome.
Surveys
For part of the research, a questionnaire was sent to those affiliated with FUNLAR (the Brazilian National Down syndrome Association). They found that 82.8% watched the drama at least sometimes.
Since it is known that television can be an excellent tool for learning, one question assessed whether viewers had gained information from watching Paginas da Vida. The graph below shows the majority of respondents report their knowledge of Down syndrome increased markedly through watching Paginas da Vida:
Percent distribution of change in knowledge about Down syndrome among viewers of Paginas da Vida
The following question pertained to the level of increase in knowledge about various issues relating to Down syndrome that resulted from watching Paginas da Vida. The results are presented in the graph below, by category:
Table 6: Percent distribution of the increase in knowledge about issues relating to Down syndrome
Learn more about PMC’s quantitative research of Paginas da Vida (PDF, KB).
Focus Groups
In addition to these surveys, PMC conducted focus groups in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil to learn about the personal stories of how the drama impacted viewers’ attitudes and knowledge of Down syndrome.
The focus groups addressed four main issues, these being (i) the social environment of people with Down syndrome, particularly in school, and within the family (ii) the relevance of the subject of Down syndrome in Brazil, (iii) identification of the scenes involving Down syndrome, how people with Down syndrome were portrayed in the drama, and whether it reflected reality and (iv) the socioeducational and developmental processes of infants and children with Down syndrome.
Participants in the focus groups included professionals who work with people with Down syndrome (ex. psychologists, social workers, social educators, etc.) and parents of children with Down syndrome.
As would be expected, the discussion among the focus group participants was full of rich debate regarding technical information, critical viewpoints and varying opinions. It became clear through a sketching exercise how extensively the telenovela had impacted the professional and personal lives of the participants.
Participants were given drawing materials and asked to document what they learned from the drama. They explained the significance of their product to the research team. The following sketch and narrative is a prime example:
“I drew a flower pot, with three pretty flowers, but one of the petals is a little atrophied (smaller). The messages about Down syndrome and other disabilities in telenovelas are increasing and causing more and more debate, generating opinions etc. However, it is necessary still to create a bigger base and more solid vehicle for these messages. Because of this, I did not I finish the table in the drawing. The subject still can be better explored with regard to socializing the information. The flowers are different, as we are, and, like the flowers, everybody has their own beauty.”
Read the full report on Paginas da Vida and its impact on Down syndrome perspectives (PDF, KB).
