The impact of public health media campaigns on drug users

Evaluation of public health media campaigns to influence change in high-risk behavior often bemoans a lack of relevance to the target audiences as well as an absence of integrated interpersonal and mass-mediated communication channels. The assumption that illegal drug users are disconnected from mass-mediated communication may account for this absence of media interventions. However, the authors' HIV-prevention research project demonstrates that many out-of-treatment drug users are media consumers. Furthermore, it shows that participants who recalled seeing or hearing media interventions report greater levels of positive behavior change than participants who do not recall such messages. Results suggest strong coordination of human services messages that are relevant to out-of-treatment drug users to facilitate changes in behavior.