The Marion County Health Department led a collaborative, multi-component youth tobacco control program, which included the Indiana University Department of Public Health. Through the neighbohrhood component of this initiative, retailer compliance with the laws against selling tobacco to minors was adressed. An MPH student project in 1999 consisted of a pilot intervention to engage two neighborhoods in discussions about reducing youth access to tobacco. The students produced and presented a slide show to six community groups. The aim was to motivate residents to take action to increase retailer compliance. Community members were given "No ID=No Tobacco" coupons and encouraged to take them to local retailers. Among 66 participants, 89% indicated that they were very likely or somewhat likely to distribute the coupons. In 2000 another group of MPH students were requested to enhance the pilot by developing a method to quantify coupons distributed. MPH students visited retailers who sold tobacco products (N=16) to enlist support for the "No ID=No Tobacco" project. Retailers were offered a one-dollar payment for each coupon they collected as an incentive for participation. The MPH student group presented the program to an additional 58 residents in 6 different settings; 270 coupons were distributed. Follow-up survey of retailers revealed that 19% reported receiving coupons. The authors will describe the contributions of the MPH students to improve this model for community and retailer involvement in youth tobacco control and discuss methods to enhance a community practice experience as a training strategy for MPH students.
Learning Objectives: At the end of the session, participants will be able to: 1. Describe the role of MPH students in a collaborative, multi-component youth tobacco control project. 2. Identify the challenges in meeting both the academic goals and the community project goals in a community practice course. 3. Discuss methods to enhance a community practice experience as a training strategy for MPH students.
Keywords: Students, Community Collaboration
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.