October 2000 • Post-Assembly Edition • Dallas
Music hath value in teaching teens health lessons
Matthew Clarke, M.D., left, and John Clarke, M.D., produce, write, perform, promote and distribute rap CDs on health topics.
BY DENNIS CONNAUGHTON
Music may indeed have charm to soothe. But it also is a key to the inner world of adolescents and a way to teach teens about health and social responsibility.
A rap CD about taking asthma medicine? Why not? How about rapping on drug and alcohol abuse, smoking, youth violence, or sex and HIV?
Matthew Clarke, M.D., a community-based family physician in New York City, and his brother, John Clarke, M.D., chief family practice resident at St. Vincent's Catholic Medical Center in New York City, described their program to educate adolescents on medical topics through rap music Sept. 21 at the Assembly. They not only talked about the program, they also performed some of the music.
The brothers Clarke produce, write, perform, promote and distribute the CDs because "adolescents respond to it," Matthew Clarke said. "Music is important to the identity of adolescents. It plays a large role in their socialization, and it helps them define important social and subcultural boundaries."
Rap music is the sound of choice for most adolescents, he said. About 71 percent of rap music CDs are bought by white kids, he added.
The Clarke brothers wanted to counteract the negative messages and images music videos send to teens and young adults about violence, substance abuse, sex and suicide. So they conducted a study among 125 high school students in Queens, N.Y., and concluded that rap music would be an effective way to reach this age group.
The FP brothers pitch their rap hit, "Asthma Stuff."
Their first CD, which they launched in Canada, was "Asthma Stuff." It encourages adolescents with asthma to take their medicine. The chorus of the song: "Two puffs of the asthma stuff twice a day stops the wheeze and helps you to breathe."
After the CD was released, the Clarkes began to get requests to perform the rap live.
"We created the song but didn't intend to perform it live," Matthew Clarke said. But they did perform it at schools in New York and other cities. They also added a reggae version.
The Clarke brothers distributed the song lyrics before they sang and then, afterwards, they discussed the complications of asthma with the adolescents to reinforce the message. They also passed out their CD.
Subsequent to the first CD, the Clarkes produced one on substance abuse titled "Have It All," another on smoking titled "Bad Breath and Brown Teeth," a CD on youth violence called "Talk It Out," and a fourth on sex and the risks of HIV infection that portrays HIV as a gangster.
They are looking for funding to produce a music video to use as a public service announcement on MTV.
The CDs and further information are available from the Clarke brothers on the Internet at www.mdmdinc.com, by e-mail at StopAsthma@AOL.com or by phone at (917) 208-2467.
FP Report is published by the AAFP News Department.
Copyright © 2000 by American Academy of Family Physicians.
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