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

Abstract #113745

Toshia Davis, MS, CHES¹, Robert W. Strack, PhD, MBA², John W. Hatch, DrPH, MSW¹, Anita P. Holmes, JD, MPH¹, and Kay A. Lovelace, PhD, MPH². (1) General Baptist State Convention, Center for Health and Healing, 200 Meredith Drive, Suite 103, Durham, NC 27713, 919-572-6374, toshia.davis@c4hh.org, (2) Department of Public Health Education, University of North Carolina Greensboro, P.O. Box 26170, 437 HHP Building, Greensboro, NC 27402-6170

African American churches have historically been the center of the African American community and leaders in advocacy and social change issues. This presentation will describe how a youth photovoice project engaged African American churches in an effort to address the influences of tobacco on their community. The photovoice project, entitled Picture Me Tobacco Free©, is a component of the North Carolina “Tobacco.Reality.Unfiltered.” campaign and promotes youth tobacco prevention and cessation in the African American population. Picture Me Tobacco Free© is conducted through a partnership between a statewide association of African American Baptist churches and a local university. Through the project, youths' pictures and captions became a platform to discuss tobacco related issues, create awareness among the faith community and motivate change. Some of the successes of the project include the youth initiation of smoke-free church ground policies and a greater awareness of tobacco among the statewide church leadership. The presentation will describe key elements that led to the successful implementation of the photovoice method in the faith-based community. Challenges and opportunities will also be addressed as a means for creating dialogue around the continuing role of social advocacy within the African American church.

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