title: Toward a smoke-free Harlem: engaging families, agencies, and community-based programs.
abstract: The aim of this collaborative public health study was to engage families, agencies, and programs in reducing secondhand smoke exposure in Central Harlem, New York City. Baseline interviews (n=657) and focus groups (n=4) were conducted with adult members of households with children who had asthma and asthma-like symptoms in the Harlem Children's Zone Asthma Initiative. The interviews concerned the prevalence and determinants of exposure of enrolled children to secondhand smoke. Key findings were that participants: (1) were generally aware of the hazards of secondhand smoke; (2) used strategies to reduce exposure to secondhand smoke in their homes; (3) believed that outdoor pollutants are sometimes just as bad for the health of their children as secondhand smoke; and (4) used smoking to provide stress relief and help diffuse otherwise volatile situations in their homes. The Harlem Smoke-Free Home Campaign was launched in October 2007 based in part on these findings.
authors.affiliation: Department of Sociomedical Sciences, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, and Department of Pediatrics, Harlem Hospital Center, New York, NY 10032, USA. men11@columbia.edu
authors.forename: Mary E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Northridge
authors.forename: Gwendolyn
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Scott
authors.forename: Rachel
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Swaner
authors.forename: Jennifer L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Northridge
authors.forename: Betina
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Jean-Louis
authors.forename: Sandra
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Klihr-Beall
authors.forename: Rubiahna L
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: Vaughn
authors.forename: Yvonne J
authors.initials: YJ
authors.lastname: Pradier
authors.forename: Roger D
authors.initials: RD
authors.lastname: Vaughan
authors.forename: Roger
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Hayes
authors.forename: Ralph S
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Caraballo
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001249:Asthma / Q000150:complications; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003256:Community Participation / Q000379:methods*; D004781:Environmental Exposure / Q000517:prevention & control; D005190:Family; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007373:Interinstitutional Relations; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009519:New York City; D014028:Tobacco Smoke Pollution / Q000517:prevention & control*; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D014028:Tobacco Smoke Pollution