 | The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA |
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| The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA |
Jane Pritzl, MA, Division of Adolescent and School Health, Centers for Disease Control, University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, Office of School Health, 1784 Racine St, suite 217, Aurora, CO 80010-7144, 303 724-0646, jane.pritzl@uchsc.edu and Linda Crossett, RDH, Division of Adolescent and School Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 4770 Buford Hwy NE, MS K-12, Atlanta, GA 30341.
School-based programs figure prominently in the achievement of a goal common to many tobacco control programs – prevent the initiation of tobacco use among young people. States seeking direction often refer to CDC’ Guidelines for School Health Programs to Prevent Tobacco Use and Addiction, where the first recommendation is to “develop and enforce a school policy on tobacco use”.
New initiatives have brought about an increase in state-level policies and additional emphasis on enforcement. Increased activity has created increased interest in accountability and ways to track accomplishments. CDC has surveys that can provide tobacco control programs with information on school tobacco policy within their state, territory, district, or school (Youth Risk Behavior Survey, Youth Tobacco Survey ,School Health Policies and Programs Study, School Health Education Profiles).
Several states have developed in-depth, state-specific surveys, which reflect their unique situation (e.g. whether tobacco policy is mandated or voluntary) and their unique data needs. Some want to assess the policy status in every school district; others want information on policies for reporting requirements of funding. Assessment strategies range from telephone or mail-out questionnaires and the collection of written policies for individual review, to reports from site visits on school property.
Federal, state, and local strategies for monitoring school tobacco policies will be described, including examples of various state efforts to collect data on school tobacco policies useful for program planning.
Learning Objectives:
Keywords: Tobacco Policy, School Health
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
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.