Rock music as a medium for AIDS intervention.

As the prevalence of HIV infection among adolescents increases, public health workers continue to seek media for intervention. An interview-based study conducted with a large sample of adolescent intravenous drug users (AIVDUs) by the National AIDS Demonstration and Research Project in Houston, Texas has located two ways in which rock music has potential value as a vehicle for AIDS intervention. First, as a topic of conversation, rock music can serve to rejuvenate the interview and retrieve the respondent's attention. Second, as a primary source of everyday life meaning for AIVDUs, rock music can serve as a medium for transmitting preventive care messages. Suggestions for the implementation of the latter are presented.