Protocol for measuring adherence to a tobacco-free university policy

The purpose is to: (1) discuss the development and inter-rater reliability of a tobacco-free campus policy compliance measure; and (2) describe how the combined use of the policy compliance measure and GIS mapping could guide policy enforcement. Tobacco-free college campuses can lead to a reduction in both smoking prevalence and secondhand smoke exposure. The University of Kentucky, a campus with approximately 27,000 students, implemented a tobacco-free medical campus policy in 2008; the entire campus went tobacco-free in 2009. In order to evaluate the success of policy implementation, as well as identify violation hot spots, it is important to monitor compliance. Few studies measure compliance with tobacco-free policies on a university campus. A policy compliance measure was developed and pilot tested on the University of Kentucky medical campus. An observational protocol was designed to count cigarette butts and observe smoking in nearly 40 locations on the medical campus. Data were collected at different times of day and seasons, and in locations covered and not covered by the policy. Locations on the entire campus will be selected for monitoring to represent all areas of campus and to include identified violation “hot-spots.” Data also will be collected on and around sidewalks not owned by the university. Data will be collected by three trained undergraduate students, who will count cigarette butts and observe individuals smoking. Inter-rater reliability will be determined. Additionally, the data collected will be plotted on a map using GIS software. The map could be used to guide future policy enforcement.