Back to Annual Meeting

Back to Annual Meeting

APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Daniel R. Brooks, DSc¹, Laurie Duro², Katie R. Brooks, MPH³, Alan C. Geller, RN, MPH³, Isabel Alicea², Zeneida Feliciano², and Laura Bradeen². (1) Department of Epidemiology, Boston University School of Public Health, 715 Albany Street, Talbot 317E, Boston, MA 02118, 617-638-6725, danbrook@bu.edu, (2) West Broadway Task Force, Inc., 135 Orton Marotta Way, #5036, South Boston, MA 02127, (3) Department of Dermatology, Boston University School of Medicine, 720 Harrison Avenue, DOB 801A, Boston, MA 02118

High smoking rates among persons of lower socioeconomic status, including public housing residents, are an important source of health disparities. We conducted a study at the West Broadway Housing Development (WBHD) in Boston, Massachusetts, to test the feasibility of a community-based smoking cessation program. The program model is built around the use of a Tobacco Treatment Specialist (TTS), who provides on-site cessation counseling and nicotine replacement therapy (NRT), and two English/Spanish bilingual WBHD residents trained as Tobacco Treatment Advocates to provide motivational interventions, raise awareness of health risks of tobacco and availability of treatment services, and refer residents to more intensive services provided by the TTS. We conducted door-to-door surveys in randomly selected homes before providing services. We obtained baseline information on 188 residents. Seventy percent of the respondents were female and 57% had children living with them. Hispanics comprised the largest ethnic group (44%) followed by whites (32%) and African-Americans (15%). Fifty-five percent of residents spoke English at home, while 38% spoke Spanish. Twenty-six percent were current smokers; 40% of all residents (and 79% of smokers) permitted smoking in their homes. Smoking was considered a "big problem" by 69% of residents. Thus far, 36 people have participated in the program (attended 1 or more TTS counseling sessions). Among these participants, 27 have used NRT. Participants have attended 5.7 TTS sessions while enrolled. Currently, we are expanding our outreach to mothers of young children with asthma and to young smoking mothers from a life skills program based adjacent to WBHD.

Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the session, participant in this session will be able to

• describe the roles of Tobacco Treatment Specialists and Advocates in high-risk populations;
• articulate the strengths and limitations of a community-based smoking cessation program

Keywords: Smoking Cessation, Community Health Programs

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Any relevant financial relationships? No