Back to Annual Meeting Page		American Public Health Association 133rd Annual Meeting & Exposition December 10-14, 2005 Philadelphia, PA

Abstract #110902

Angela Sy, DrPH, Department of Native Hawaiian Health, University of Hawaii at Manoa, John A. Burns School of Medicine, 651 Ilalo Street, MEB, Ste. #307J, Honolulu, HI 96813, 808-692-1049, asy@email.unc.edu, Karen Glanz, PhD, MPH, Behavioral Sciences and Health Education, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, 1518 Clifton Road NE, Atlanta, GA 30322, Karin Koga, MPH, Cancer Etiology Program, Cancer Research Center of Hawaii, 1236 Lauhala St., Ste. #406, Honolulu, HI 96813, Kevin B. Lunde, BS, Prevention and Control, Cancer Research Center of Hawaii, Biomedical Sciences Bldg., C-105, 1960 East West. Rd., Honolulu, HI 96822, and Alana Steffen, PhD, Prevention and Control Program, Cancer Research Center of Hawaii, 1236 Lauhala St., Honolulu, HI 96813.

Federal and state policies now require schools to teach evidence based tobacco use prevention programs. However, their effectiveness depends on adequate implementation. Studies have found that teachers do not always implement tobacco use prevention programs as intended in real world settings. This study examined individual and organizational factors associated with teachers' implementation of an innovative tobacco-use prevention curriculum in Hawaii. A process evaluation was conducted on the implementation of Project SPLASH (Smoking Prevention Launch Among Students in Hawaii). A cross condition comparison was used to identify whether teacher characteristics, teacher training, external facilitators and barriers, teacher attitudes, and curriculum attributes were associated with the dose of teacher implementation in the intervention (SPLASH) and control (TNT-Hawaii) programs. Data were collected from middle school teachers (N=62) and their students in 20 randomly assigned intervention and control public schools in Hawaii. Sources included teacher questionnaires and interviews, and student products (e.g., homework assignments, online computer feedback) and surveys. Chi Square and t-tests revealed that implementation dose was related to high student enjoyment of the curriculum, implementing the curriculum in a year long class schedule, and teachers' teaching background. Content, within case, and cross case analyses of the qualitative data using NUDISTVivo revealed that SPLASH staff assistance and high curriculum satisfaction supported the implementation dose of the SPLASH (innovative intervention) but not TNT (usual care) curricula. These results have implications for school health promotion practice and the current implementation of evidence based youth tobacco use prevention curricula.

Learning Objectives:

• At the end of the session, participants will be able to identify two organizational or individual factors associated with teachers' implementation of a school based tobacco use prevention curriculum in Hawaii.
• At the end of the session, participants will describe two advantages of using triangulation of quantitative and qualitative data sources for process evaluation.
• At the end of the session, participants will identify one recommendation for further research on the implementation of tobacco use prevention curricula in the school setting.

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

I wish to disclose that I have NO financial interests or other relationship with the manufactures of commercial products, suppliers of commercial services or commercial supporters.