Online Program

328044
A policy approach to stamp out smoking in minority faith-based communities in rural Arkansas


Tuesday, November 3, 2015

Marian Evans-Lee, DrPH, MPH, Minority Initiative Sub-Recipient Grant Office, University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, Pine Bluff, AR
Valandra German, DrPH, MPH, Minority Research Center on Tobacco and Addictions, University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, Pine Bluff, AR
Precious Taylor, Minority Research Center on Tobacco and Addictions, University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, Pine Bluff, AR

Historically, African-American churches are at the center of civic and social change in local communities.  Churches are able to influence the behaviors of its members and the surrounding community on many levels.  Now, churches are seeking to extend resources beyond meeting the basic spiritual needs of its members and the community. With the more than 47,000 African-Americans that die each year from tobacco related diseases and tobacco use prevalence rates almost twice the national rate in some rural Arkansas counties , African-American churches play a pivotal role in changing society’s norms regarding tobacco use.  Using principles of community-based participatory research, the church cessation and research project uses a combination of direct contact and product development to facilitate the adoption of 35 tobacco-free campus policies in rural Arkansas African-American churches. With implications for the broader impact pending, preliminary results of the project indicate the applicability of Rogers’s Diffusion of Innovation Theory constructs with policy adopters. 

Learning Areas:

Diversity and culture
Program planning
Public health or related public policy

Learning Objectives:
Describe the church cessation and research project implemented in minority rural counties in Arkansas. List the steps to initiate tobacco free campus policies at faith-based institutions in rural Arkansas minority communities. Explain the importance of working with faith-based institutions to reduce tobacco prevalence rates in rural Arkansas minority communities.

Keyword(s): African American, Faith Community

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I have worked has a public health practitioner for over 15 years focusing on program planning and implementation, capacity building and program evaluation. Currently, I have the responsibility of providing technical assistance, direction and resources for successful implementation of strategies aimed at reducing tobacco use in minority communities at the local level. In addition to the previously mentioned experience, I have served in an administrative capacity for 12 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.