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Abstract Background: Traditional methods of HIV/AIDS awareness are failed to achieve significant participation from the community because young adults hesitate to participate in such activities due to the stigma associated with the disease. Objective: We proposed that if HIV/AIDS awareness programs are conducted integratively with sports activities, it may result in significant participation from the community, which in turn helps in overcoming the stigma associated with the disease. Methods: We conducted a literature review of various studies highlighting the role of sports activities in spreading HIV/AIDS awareness. We also conducted a pilot study by taking bicycle run activity to analyze its role in spreading HIV/AIDS awareness. Results: We found only five studies in which sports activities have been used to overcome stigma associated with HIV/AIDS. Football or soccer is the primary sports activity adopted to overcome HIV/AIDS stigma among school and college students. In our pilot trial, when we used the bicycle run as a means to overcome HIV/AIDS stigma, significant participation from the community was achieved. Conclusions: Sports activities can convey the message of HIV/AIDS awareness in a much more effective way compared to traditional methods. We recommended that the government should integrate HIV/AIDS awareness programs with sports activities to overcome stigma associated with the disease.
Goyal et al. (Mon,) studied this question.