236424 Relationship between Diffusion Incentives and Adoption Intentions of Online Tobacco Prevention Education Program among School Districts in Florida

Monday, October 31, 2011

Jiunn-Jye Sheu, PhD, MSPH, CHES , Department of Health and Recreation Professions, University of Toledo, Toledo, OH
W. William Chen, PhD, CHES , Department of Health Education and Behavior, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL
Bernadette Guzman, BS , Department of Health Services Research, Management and Policy, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL
Chung-Bang Weng, MSCS, MA , Department of Health Education and Behavior, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL
Background: Tobacco continues to pose an enormous public health threat globally. Schools can capture the target populations at highest risk for tobacco acquisition and can provide a unique environment for tobacco prevention. Although online tobacco prevention programs have been increasingly effective in schools, the relationship between diffusion incentives and school district's adoption has not been thoroughly investigated. Methods: The Diffusion of Innovation Model, specifically focusing on relative advantages and adoption, served as the theoretical underpinning of this study. The mixed methods were used to qualitatively explore, quantitatively assess, and jointly investigate the effects of incentives affecting online program adoption.

Results: The results showed that the school districts with policies, higher values, supports, and concerns about incentives are more likely to adopt online tobacco prevention education. The majority of tobacco prevention administrative staff in the study had only less than 25% of their work time dedicated to tobacco prevention. The staff who had formal academic training in health, worked in school environments for less than 15 years, or held tobacco prevention administrative roles for less than 5 years appeared more likely to adopt online programs than their counterparts.

Conclusion: The study results suggested that both the incentives and staff's contextual factors contributed to the likelihood of adoption of online tobacco prevention education. We suggest more funding to support school tobacco prevention in the future.

Learning Areas:
Administer health education strategies, interventions and programs
Administration, management, leadership
Advocacy for health and health education
Conduct evaluation related to programs, research, and other areas of practice
Planning of health education strategies, interventions, and programs

Learning Objectives:
1. Identify the relationship between diffusion incentives and adoption intentions. 2. Describe the insufficient manpower for tobacco prevention in Florida.

Keywords: Funding, School Health

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am qualified because I have conducted research in the area of child and adolescent tobacco prevention and school health for the past 15 years and have given multiple presentations and published peer referred articles.
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.

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