202922 Environmental and Social Influences on Smoking among urban Hispanic Young Adults: An Observational Study

Monday, November 9, 2009

Jennifer D. McCleary-Sills, MPH , Department of Health, Behavior and Society, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD
Evelyn Rosario , Community Outreach, Esperanza Center, Baltimore, MD
Lee Bone, MPH, RN , Department of Health, Behavior and Society, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD
Frances Stillman, EdD , Johns Hopkins, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD
  
While national trends in smoking show declining prevalence, this decrease has been less sharp among racial and ethnic minorities. This disparity is particularly notable among minorities in urban areas, low socioeconomic groups, and with low levels of formal education. The present research aims to determine how influences in the physical environment promote smoking among Hispanic young adults in Baltimore City. In partnership with several community-based service organizations, we conducted a community mapping to identify access points for cigarettes and locations where young Hispanic adults smoke. This mapping identified a total of 98 merchants as cigarette access points and 24 bars and nightclubs as smoking locations within the Hispanic community. We are currently conducting systematic observations in each of the identified sites to collect detailed information on the physical environment of each, including tobacco-related signage and advertising, presence of smoking, availability of cigarettes and other tobacco products. Preliminary results indicate that cigarette advertising is ubiquitous in the urban landscape and that smoking is still a prevalent behavior in the social and physical environment around bars and night clubs. These early data provide further insight into the relationship between smoking behaviors among the population of interest and: tobacco industry strategies, adherence to the city-wide smoking ban, and other environmental influences on tobacco-related practices. We will use the knowledge gained from this research to develop appropriate interventions to eliminate tobacco use among Hispanic young adults in Baltimore and to foster future academic-community partnerships to reduce health disparities experienced by Hispanics in Baltimore City.

Learning Objectives:
-Assess the social and structural factors that influence smoking behaviors among Hispanic young adults in Baltimore using an environmental framework; -Design appropriate intervention strategies and policy recommendations to eliminate tobacco use and related health disparities among Hispanic young adults in urban Baltimore.

Keywords: Minority Health, Tobacco

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am a second year doctoral student at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, where my studies focus on social and behavioral interventions to address health disparities. The present research is the second phase of a community-based participatory research project in East Baltimore funded conducted under the auspices of the Institute for Global Tobacco Control . For both stages, I created the research instruments and was responsible for maintaining relationships with the project’s community partners. In the current phase, I am recruiting and training community members to perform structured observations and will lead the data input and analysis processes. As a result, I will be able to present the findings from this phase from a first-hand perspective and within the context of the previous research.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

See more of: Issues related to tobacco use among Latino and Caribbean populations
See more of: Alcohol, Tobacco, and Other Drugs