Learn the Link Campaign: Drug Abuse and HIV Case Study

Conventional wisdom has long held, erroneously, that the link between drug abuse and HIV was pretty much limited to sharing of needles or drug-use paraphernalia. Not so. In addition to impaired judgment that often leads to risky behavior, drug abuse has biological effects on general health, increasing susceptibility to HIV and AIDS. Also, both drug abuse and HIV affect the brain, and research shows HIV causes greater cognitive and brain cell damage among drug abusers than among non-drug users. In animal studies, methamphetamines increase the amount of HIV in brain cells.

A link between drug use and HIV has been evident since the beginning of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, and adolescents are particularly vulnerable to risk taking and behaviors associated with the spread of disease. 50% of high school seniors reportedly have experimented at least once with an illegal drug, and more than 45,000 young people in the U.S in the 13 to 24 age range had been diagnosed with AIDS by the end of 2007.

Research has also shown that drug-abuse treatment helps prevent the spread of HIV, and that intervention programs that curtail drug use also reduce risky behaviors, such as unsafe sex practices, by furnishing current information, counseling, testing and referrals for medical and social services.

With this information in mind, the U.S. Federal government initiated the Learn the Link campaign which collects, collates and distributes crucial research data and updates to alert young people, parents, educators and the media of the deadly connection between drug use and HIV/AIDS.

Key Activities:

Distribution of Learn the Link messaging through all media venues and formats; public service announcements, posters, e-mails and web presence; inclusion of authority figures, mentors and other influential adults in social networks; promotion of research and development of additional new strategies to prevent and treat the disease.

Results:

The National Institute of Drug Abuse has established that drug abuse treatment is HIV prevention, and the Learn the Link campaign has effectively raised awareness of the connection between drug abuse and HIV/AIDS. During and after drug abuse treatment, researchers report there is a reduction or halt of risky behavior, including unsafe sexual activities.

Industry:

Healthcare

Primary Communications Discipline:

Social marketing

Organizations Involved:

National Institute on Drug Abuse division of National Institute of Health; collaborators include 13 television networks, 20 organizations, 7 private sector companies, 5 events & multiple sponsors, 7 colleges/universities, 6 publications and 3 radio stations.

Campaign Dates:

September 18, 2007 - Present

For More Information:

Learn the Link web site http://hiv.drugabuse.gov/
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services fact sheets, September, 2008 http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/resources/factsheets/us.htm
CDC Divisions of HIV/AIDS Prevention, Basic Statistics http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/topics/surveillance/basic.htm#aidcases & http://cdc.gov/hiv/topics/surveillance/basic.htm#hivest
Nora D. Volkow, M.D., Director, National Institute on Drug Abuse report May, 2007 http://www.drugabuse.gov/ResearchReports/hiv/hiv.html

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