This report describes the development of an innovative and flexible adolescent smoking cessation program designed to be responsive to the needs of the individual teenage smoker. One key function of health education theory is to heighten practitioners' awareness of various conditions that impact health behavior. The paper discusses the implication of this process for bridging the gap between theory and practice in community health education. The Freedom From Smoking Rap Room (FFSRR) was initiated in response to a crisis precipitated by a change in a school policy that closed the campus, thus making it impossible for students to smoke during the day. A baseline survey was conducted to determine the number of students who smoke and who were interested in accessing smoking cessation services. The FFSRR now operates for two hours twice a week and provides confidential counseling to students tailored to their individual needs. The major project innovation is that, rather than using theory to develop a standardized program for smokers, health education theory was here used to sensitize the project staff to the full range of individual needs and to tailor the intervention accordingly. The results show that approximately 17% of student smokers sought out the cessation services, and of those, 26% quit smoking successfully. Other positive results indicate that the majority cut down on the amount of smoking and progressed at least one stage in the Transtheoretical Model's typology. With this model, students can direct their own intervention choices, thus are more committed to changing their health behaviors.
Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the session, the participant will be able to: 1. List psychosocial factors contributing to teenage smoking behaviors. 2. Articulate the design of a successful smoking cessation program designed to address individual needs. 3. Apply the strengths of this smoking cessation program to their own school based programs
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: None
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.