Mississippi led the country in recovering Medicaid costs for tobacco-related illnesses in the tobacco settlement lawsuits. Of the $62 million being spent during the first two years of the pilot programs, only a small portion was spent on employing school nurses. While other states have demonstrated the effectiveness of school-based tobacco prevention/cessation programs among urban youth, it is not clear that this may hold true for rural youth. This panel will present an overview of the background and significance of the study, methodology (including both qualitative and quantitative measures), results and policy recommendations. Comparisons of students smoking knowledge and usage (K-12) as well as school policies between schools which employed nurses through the tobacco settlement dollars and schools which do not will be compared.The second part of the presentation will include a "hands-on" teaching exchange designed for participants to frame their research questions and receive feedback from the authors. Specifically, the strengths, weaknesses and practical applications of evaluation research among this population group will be addressed.
Learning Objectives: 1.Participants can expect to gain knowledge in the following areas: a)background and rationale for research design; b)implementation strategies and; c)research findings and future directions of using tobacco settlement dollars to fund school nurse pilot program 2.At the conclusion of this session,participants should be able to: a)identify important key variables; b)discuss instruments used with various study groups; c)describe general research findings and; d)frame/outline their own research studies 3. During this session, panelists will discuss recent evaluative research and provide a forum in which participants can begin to frame their own studies. Panelists will provide checklists and handouts to guide participants in their own research designs
Keywords: Tobacco Settlement, Nurses
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: None
I have a significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.
Relationship: Research grant