Hip-Hop 2 Prevent Substance Abuse and HIV (H2P) is designed to improve knowledge and skills related to drugs and HIV/AIDS among youth ages 12-16 with the aim of preventing or reducing their substance use and risky sexual activity. The program incorporates aspects of hip-hop culture–including language, arts, and history–as a social, cultural, and contextual framework for addressing substance use and HIV risk behaviors.
H2P uses a curriculum consisting of 10 modules, called “ciphers,” delivered in 10 2-hour sessions. Through the curriculum’s use of hip-hop culture, an interactive, multimedia CD, and a mix of traditional teaching methods, students learn information about drugs, HIV/AIDS, and sexual behavior; resistance and refusal skills; effective communication and negotiation skills; information about healthy alternatives to sex and drugs; and prevention self-efficacy skills.