Targeting adult smokers through a multi-ethnic public school system.
In a unique approach to utilizing an existing intervention, "opportunistic" and targeted school-based strategies were used to enroll 446 adults into a tailored preventive health program featuring a health screening and smoking-cessation intervention. Implemented through a public school district serving a multi-ethnic low-to-middle income urban community, subjects in this randomized trial were interviewed at enrollment and at three-, six-, and 12-month follow-up, and rescreened at 12 months, to assess changes in smoking-related knowledge, attitudes, and practices. Using conservative assumptions, self-reported ever-quit rates and continuous abstinence rates of 57.5% and 2.6%, respectively, were achieved across groups; point-prevalence abstinence rates were 13.2%, 12.9%, and 10.3% at three, six, and 12 months. The study examines issues relevant to smoking status and stages of change in this population. The role of the school in increasing access to needed health programming in underserved communities is explored.
Berman
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BA
Division of Cancer Prevention and Control Research, Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center at UCLA 90024, USA.
Gritz
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ER
Braxton-Owens
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H
Nisenbaum
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R
D000328:Adult; D005006:Ethnicity; D005260:Female; D006266:Health Education / Q000379:methods*; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D015141:Los Angeles; D008297:Male; D011897:Random Allocation; D012574:Schools; D016540:Smoking Cessation; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014505:Urban Population