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APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Jennifer A. Henry, MPH, CHES and Vonn Magnin, BSW. Maricopa County Department of Public Health, Maricopa County Tobacco Use Prevention Program, 3838 N Central Ave #1600, Phoenix, AZ 85012, 602-372-8409, vonnmagnin@mail.maricopa.gov

Objective: The Maricopa County Tobacco Use Prevention Program (MACTUPP) provides a model for building effective, research-based school programs while developing school capacity to institutionalize prevention efforts. MACTUPP collaborates with over 300 schools in Maricopa County to prevent the initiation of first use of tobacco. Small annual grants to each participating school support the program, including purchase of effective, research-based materials. In order to build capacity among the schools, MACTUPP has developed a step-down approach with funding. The strategy will reduce funding as capacity is built into each contracted school program by encouraging the schools to build a prevention program and gather resources to maintain the program with technical assistance and minimal funding.

A step-down grant system allows increasing the number of schools per year without increasing budget. The first years of the program each school receives a grant for a small stipend to the school site coordinator of the program and monies for the school to build a prevention library. In subsequent years the funds decrease in materials money encouraging the schools to maintain the program by providing the site coordinator with reimbursement.

Results: MACTUPP has collaborated with over 275 schools in Maricopa County since 2003 to prevent the harmful health effects caused by tobacco use. This represents intensive tobacco prevention for over 25,000 students per year. This program builds capacity for prevention at the school level while allowing site-based flexibility and is both a cost effective and staff effective model to create widespread effective programming.

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

• Describe an intensive, research-based youth tobacco use prevention program
• Articulate the procedure for implementing a step-down grant system approach
• Duplicate a comprehensive and low-cost intensive tobacco use prevention program that implements a capacity building model

Related Web page: www.mactupp.org

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Not Answered