214915 Using Technology and Collaborative Partners for a 2010 Needs Assessment in Tobacco Control

Tuesday, November 9, 2010

Alice J. Dalla Palu, MPA, CAC, CTTS-M , Tobacco Free Northeast PA, Allentown, PA
  
Pennsylvania Department of Health Tobacco Program restructured tobacco primary contractors (PCs) from county to health district contracts in 2007 reducing contracts from 50 to 8 creating a unique opportunity for program improvement and management. Tobacco Free Northeast PA (TFNE)is the PC for the Northeast Health District comprised of 10 counties on the eastern side of PA. For the FY 2010 Needs Assessment, TFNE decided to include various data tools as well as new technology to determine future direction. TFNE identified program gaps and challenges including special populations. As a collaborative process, TFNE requested assistance from others with technology access unavailable to TFNE. Traditional data sources were used: PRAMS vs. PA and district/county specific pregnancy smoking and birth data, Community Health Status Indicators to determine population shift and death data, NCI's Monograph Series #19 on The Role of Media in Promoting and Reducing Tobacco Use, as well as nontraditional – a conference on media and young adult smokers attended by 2 staff. Examining new strategies for young adults with higher prevalence rates through social marketing and alternative media provided a clearer vision for next steps. TFNE had a particular interest in examining tobacco retailer locations with repeated noncompliance. TFNE collaborated with an entity with new GIS Analysis “mapping” program to provide our analysis. From this, we determined appropriate changes in tobacco sale enforcement policy saving resources and narrowing focus.

Learning Areas:
Administration, management, leadership
Assessment of individual and community needs for health education
Planning of health education strategies, interventions, and programs
Program planning
Public health administration or related administration
Systems thinking models (conceptual and theoretical models), applications related to public health

Learning Objectives:
1. Describe how local/regional needs assessments should be incorporated into program evaluation and strategic planning. 2. Discuss how to utilize tools that are nontraditional in a needs assessment. 3. Identify collaborative partners with expertise and technology who are willing to provide data analysis and save valuable resources – we don’t have to be expert in everything.

Keywords: Community Health Assessment, Tobacco Control

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am qualified to present because I oversee the tobacco program for the Northeast Health District as the Director.
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.

Back to: 4138.0: The Importance of Training Health Professionals in Tobacco and Other Health Education Topics