Abstract: The twelve program states funded by the American Legacy Foundation under The Statewide Youth Initiatives began implementation in 2000. The goal of these programs is to develop statewide coalitions that would institute ‘youth led, and youth driven’ tobacco control efforts at local or regional levels. These programs constitute complex undertakings, and the approaches to recruiting and involving youth can be expected to differ depending on state and local organizations’ experience working with young people. Abt Associates is conducting case studies of six of the state programs, in collaboration with the Coordinating Center for Evaluation and Applied Research (Research Triangle Institute, Prospect Associates and RAND), which oversees evaluation of all Legacy Foundation’s work. The case studies document the states’ process of implementing the programs, paying close attention to relevant features of the institutional and historical context and to approaches to recruiting and involving youth. Case studies are guided by the Coordinating Center’s conceptual framework for youth empowerment. Regular open-ended telephone interviews with site staff and collaborators, annual site visits to observe and conduct key informant interviews and focus groups with youth, and on-site ethnographers constitute the main methods. Sites selected reflect regional, social, and program diversity.
Learning Objectives: 1- To describe barriers and facilitators experienced by six states during initial implementation of statewide, youth empowerment tobacco control coalitions; 2.- To provide preliminary qualitative analyses of contrasting state contextual factors affecting program implementation; 3- To discuss lessons learned about initial stages of recruiting and involving youth in tobacco control efforts in distinct communities.
Keywords: Tobacco Control, Youth
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.