Online Program

281176
Ethnic and gender differences in longitudinal smoking trends in Taiwan, 2004 to 2007


Tuesday, November 5, 2013

Joseph Keller, MS, MPH, School of Public Health, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan
Shu-Yu Lyu, MPH, PhD, School of Public Health, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan
Liang-Ting Tsai, MS, PhD, Graduate School of Educational Measurement & Statistics, National Taichung University of Education, Taichung, Taiwan
Chyi-Huey Bai, PhD, School of Public Health, College of Public Health and Nutrition, Taipei Medical University, Taipei City, Taiwan
Alex Ganr Lay Wu, Department of Genetics, Rutgers State University, New Brunswick, NJ
Yu-Ching Lan, PhD, Department of Health Risk Management, China Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan
Donald E. Morisky, ScD, MSPH, ScM, Department of Community Health Sciences, Fielding School of Public Health, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA
BACKGROUND. The Austronesian minority of indigenous tribe groups in Taiwan is heavily affected by health disparities. The Bureau of Health Promotion (BHP) has conducted annual population-based telephone surveys to monitor tobacco consumption since 2004, which provide the gold standard to determine trends in Taiwanese smoking prevalence. OBJECTIVES. To explore ethnic and gender differences in smoking prevalence from 2004 to 2007. METHODS. Data was derived from the BHP adult tobacco use surveys which used the probability proportional to size sampling technique. On average, the nationally-representative samples polled more than 16,000 respondents each year. RESULTS. The smoking prevalence for indigenous versus non-indigenous respondents, from 2004 to 2007, was 31.8% vs. 26.3%, 27.7% vs. 24.4%, 30.8% vs. 23.3%, and 33.1% vs. 23.0%, respectively. That is, indigenous males consistently smoked more. Significant ethnic differences in smoking prevalence were observed in 2004, 2006, and 2007. Among smoking respondents, significant differences between indigenous and non-indigenous respondents in intentions to quit smoking were found in 2004 (58.4% vs. 46.0%, p <.05) and 2007 (62.1% vs. 45.4%, p <.001). Of note, the smoking prevalence for non-indigenous females was lower and decreased slightly, 6% in 2004 to 5% in 2007. On the other hand, smoking prevalence for indigenous females increased from 13% in 2004 to 18% in 2007. CONCLUSIONS. Significant ethnic and gender differences in adult smoking prevalence were observed. These finding suggest that tobacco control education intervention must be carefully tailored to address gender sensitive and cultural appropriate approaches.

Learning Areas:

Assessment of individual and community needs for health education
Diversity and culture
Planning of health education strategies, interventions, and programs
Public health or related research
Social and behavioral sciences

Learning Objectives:
Analyze the longitudinal trends of prevalence rate of smoking in general population as well as indigenous minority population. Identify the exposure of second hand smoking in general population as well as indigenous minority population. Discuss gender mainstreaming perspective in designing anti-smoking education intervention program. 4.Discuss cross cultural strategies for quitting smoking.

Keyword(s): Minority Health, Tobacco Control

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am currently a PhD student actively involved in a research project exploring smoking behavior and aboriginal health in Taiwan.
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.