Integrating, a Win With Schools

The 2007 Revised CDC Best Practices Recommendations has changed the focus of youth-focused education programs. Effective comprehensive school tobacco prevention programs require work done in four areas: policy, education, youth empowerment and cessation services. One of the greatest challenges in applying the CDC Best Practices for Tobacco Programs is building capacity in schools for comprehensive tobacco prevention programs. Traditionally, tobacco prevention has been relegated to health classes and enhancement (often single session assemblies). Curriculum infusion (the integration of health messaging in non-health academic areas) provides new opportunities to reinforce prevention learning while providing real life, real time applications of academic lessons. This is a win-win especially for our youth. The Southeastern Pennsylvania Regional Tobacco Control Project (SEPA TCP) coordinates tobacco control and prevention activities across a large urban, suburban, and rural seven-county region. In October 2008, SEPA TCP shifted its regional school-based prevention model from direct services to an evidence-based model that seeks to build the capacity of schools to offer their own anti-tobacco programming and infuse tobacco prevention education into existing curricula. This culminated in hosting a two-day forum with teachers. Administrators and students focused on developing ways to infuse tobacco use prevention into Middle School Language Arts and Math curricula while meeting specific academic standards. This presentation will share the learning from the forum including evaluation results measured through pre/post-tests and interviews. . Adult participants showed an increase in knowledge, understanding of Act 211, curriculum infusion, and a better understanding of tobacco use prevalence among youth.