The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA

Abstract #66955

José Muñoz, PhD¹, Susanna Nemes, PhD¹, Jeffrey A. Hoffman, PhD², Jennifer Weil, MA², and Shakira Daugherty, MPH, CHES¹. (1) Tobacco and Drug Team, Danya International, Inc., 8737 Colesville Rd., Suite 1200, Silver Spring, MD 20910, (2) Danya International Inc, 8737 Colesville Road, Suite 1200, Silver Spring, MD 20910

The growth in the population of Hispanic students is unparalleled when compared with other demographic groups. Public health messages may be sufficiently conveyed in English to many Hispanic students, but there is a percentage of Hispanic students that prefer messages conveyed in Spanish. There is a great need to reach Hispanic students with public health messages, including the dangers of smoking. In response to the need to help Hispanic youth quit smoking, Danya International Inc., with funding from the National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA) has developed a research based multifaceted smoking-cessation program for Hispanic adolescents who only speak Spanish or are more comfortable communicating in Spanish.

The Hispanic Adolescent Smoking Cessation Escaping Nicotine & Tobacco (Hispanic ASCENT) is based on cognitive learning theory and the stages of change continuum. It was developed for ages 14 through 18, and presents quitting as a process. The Hispanic ASCENT program integrates cultural concepts such as machismo, marianismo (counterpart for machismo), familismo (familism), confianza (trust), respeto (respect), personalismo (personalism), dignidad (dignity/honesty) and simpatía (personable/friendly), to makes the program culturally appropriate to the Hispanic youth who desire to quit smoking. Hispanic youth were involved in the development process, allowing the motivational video and curriculum to be culturally specific tailored to the Hispanic youth needs, including a number of exercises, activities and role plays to get the teens involved in the sessions. The intervention includes a six session curriculum, training manual, teen workbook, motivational video entitled Mi Último Estorbo and the facilitator’s training video.

Learning Objectives:

• At the conclusion of the session, the participants in this session will be able to:
• Become familiar with the Hispanic/Latino ASCENT curriculum.
• Learn about challenges encounter in the design, development of the curriculum and instructional video.

Keywords: Tobacco, Youth

Related Web page: www.teenquit.com

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: DANYA INTERNATIONAL, INC --and NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF DRUG ABUSE (NIDA)
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.