title: A short online community readiness survey for smoke-free policy.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Rural residents in the United States are more likely to use tobacco, have less access to tobacco control resources and efforts, and are more highly exposed to secondhand smoke than their urban counterparts. The purpose was to design and pilot test a shortened, self-administered online survey (Community Readiness Survey-Short form [CRS-S]) to assess community readiness for smoke-free policy in rural communities. The Community Readiness Survey-Long form (CRS-L) is a 30- to 90-min telephone-administered survey. The Community Readiness Model can guide the design of programs and policy interventions to reduce health risks.
  
  
  METHODS
  160 key informants from Wave 3 of a 5-year community-based randomized controlled trial set in Kentucky completed the CRS-L; 61 of approximately 140-284 items were significantly related to the relevant readiness dimension subscores and selected for inclusion. The online CRS-S was created with these items using Qualtrics software; 43 smoke-free advocates who had completed the CRS-L during Wave 4 were invited to participate. Correlations between the CRS-S and the CRS-L on overall readiness and the dimension scores were calculated. Readiness scores were correlated with existence of public policy and voluntary smoke-free policies to assess convergent validity.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The correlation between the overall CRS-S and CRS-L scores was relatively strong (.82), and there is evidence to support convergent validity. Most respondents completed the CRS-S in less than 15 min and preferred this format.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The CRS-S is a valid and less time- and resource-intensive method to assess readiness for smoke-free policy in rural communities.
authors.affiliation: Tobacco Policy Research Program, University of Kentucky College of Nursing, Lexington, KY, USA. amanda.fallin@ucsf.edu
authors.forename: Amanda
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Fallin
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Zuercher
authors.forename: Mary Kay
authors.initials: MK
authors.lastname: Rayens
authors.forename: Sarah
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Adkins
authors.forename: Nancy
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: York
authors.forename: Ellen J
authors.initials: EJ
authors.lastname: Hahn
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001294:Attitude to Health; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D007629:Kentucky; D008297:Male; D010865:Pilot Projects; D011159:Population Surveillance / Q000379:methods*; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; D012424:Rural Population / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D061845:Smoke-Free Policy; D000074606:Smoking Prevention