Technology Fuels Fight Against Cocaine Use in Mexico Eric Lindberg - USC News
go to original January 10, 2015

Disturbed by new evidence that crack cocaine use may be reaching epidemic levels in Mexico City, USC researchers are testing a new strategy to fight back.

Led by USC School of Social Work Assistant Professor Alice Cepeda, the team will implement projection mapping, an emerging technology that casts two-dimensional images and animated text onto buildings and other large surfaces, to deliver pro-health messages to hard-to-reach individuals who use crack.

“We are going into communities that are geographically, socially and economically marginalized and reaching out to individuals who are not seeking out drug and health services and treatment and who are the most likely to be engaging in risk behaviors,” Cepeda said. “Our intent is to intervene and reduce harm before it gets out of control.”

One of only two USC researchers to receive a Grand Challenges Explorations grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (Assistant Professor Beth Smith from the USC Division of Biokinesiology and Physical Therapy received a grant during the same round of funding), Cepeda will use the award to design engaging content she hopes will catch the eye of crack users and disrupt everyday risk behaviors in Iztapalapa, one of the poorest areas of Mexico City.

Read the rest at USC News

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