141st APHA Annual Meeting

In This section

281882
Creative ways to sustain a statewide movement: Lessons from the 84

Tuesday, November 5, 2013

Hye Won Lee, MPH , Training and Capacity Building, Health Resources in Action, Boston, MA
Tamaki West, MA , Health Communication, Health Resources in Action, Boston, MA
Brittany H. Chen, MPH , Boston University School of Public Health Doctoral Candidate, Health Resources in Action, Boston, MA
Evan Wilson, MA , Training and Capacity Building, Health Resources in Action, Boston, MA
Esmirna Damaso, MPH , MA Tobacco Cessation and Prevention Program, MA Department of Public Health, Boston, MA
Sustainability is an indicator of a successful public health program. Given the economic environment, community health initiatives must identify creative ways to sustain their impact while overcoming fluctuations in resources.

The 84 Movement, a program of the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (MDPH) and managed by Health Resources in Action, began in 2007 to create a statewide youth tobacco prevention movement. The 84 represents the 84% of youth in MA that do not to smoke. Since its inception, The 84 has impacted over 100,000 youth in Massachusetts. The 84 engages youth in fighting tobacco in their communities while supporting them to become powerful leaders.

In the 1990's, resources were dedicated to establish groups with sole funding from MDPH. As funding dwindled, this system became unsustainable. The system evolved into a chapter model, where existing schools and community-based youth groups sign up to part of The 84.

Now, The 84 Chapter Challenge engages Chapters in tobacco prevention activities, using competition and fun as motivation. Chapters are encouraged to conduct tobacco prevention activities, attend events, and share accomplishments with other Chapters on their Chapter webpage. Points are distributed to Chapters that conduct activities or attend events, making Chapters eligible for prizes; Chapters that reach 84 points by the end of the year receive funds to host a World No Tobacco Day celebration.

Also, The 84 Chapters receive resources including trainings, technical assistance, exclusive event invitations and giveaways.

This session proposes creative ways to build program sustainability to engage youth in tobacco prevention.

Learning Areas:
Advocacy for health and health education
Communication and informatics
Planning of health education strategies, interventions, and programs
Program planning
Social and behavioral sciences

Learning Objectives:
Identify strategies from The 84 Movement that can be used to creatively engage youth in sustainable tobacco prevention efforts. Identify cost-effective methods of integrating web and social media technology and offline resources into tobacco-related advocacy work among youth. Discuss how to develop and maintain buy-in and commitment among youth to continually engage them in tobacco prevention efforts and leadership. Understand the impact of The 84 Movement on youth developmental outcomes.

Keywords: Youth, Tobacco

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am the Project Manager of The 84 Movement and have worked in tobacco prevention for 4 years.
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.