Assessing Community Readiness for Tobacco Policy Change in Indigenous Communities

In 2007, the Nez Perce Tribe's Tobacco Prevention Coalition was funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to expand its second-hand smoking policies on the reservation. Over a period of two months, the Tribe partnered with an outside evaluator to lead tribal members through a community readiness assessment . Employees of Tribal administration offices, the Tribal Health Clinic, Tribal housing, a building manager, and two community members were interviewed about the Nez Perce community's readiness for second-hand smoking policy change across six dimensions: existing second-hand smoking policy efforts, community knowledge about second-hand smoking, community leadership, community climate for second hand smoking policy efforts, community knowledge of second hand smoking policy efforts, and resources for second hand smoking policy efforts.

By successfully conducting their own community readiness assessment, the Nez Perce Tribe was able to pass a Tribal resolution to ban second-hand smoking in or near Tribal buildings, and engage Tribal members in larger efforts to curb tobacco and other substance use in the community. In this presentation, we will emphasize a) the use of community readiness interviews as a sustainable tool for community assessment in Native communities, b) the model of a collaborative, sustained relationship between an evaluation firm and a Tribal entity, and c) the applicability of a community readiness assessment tool for policy change in tobacco and other areas of health policy change.