The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA

Abstract #71709

Dilyara Barzani, MD, MPH, Tobacco Control Research Branch, National Cancer Institute, 6116 Executive Plaza, Suite 109, MSC 8318, Bethesda, MD 20892-8318, 301-451-5043, barzanid@mail.nih.gov, Rebecca Traub, Brown University School of Medicine, Box G-8292, Brown Universeity, Providence, RI 02912, and Michele Bloch, MD, PhD, Tobacco Control Research Branch, NCI, 6130 Executive Blvd., Bethesda, MD 20892.

In many developing nations the prevalence of women's tobacco use is quite low, as compared with the developed world. It is widely recognized that preventing an increase in female tobacco use in the developing world is a critical public health opportunity. The purpose of this project is to provide a comprehensive review and analysis of the published English-language literature on the subject of women's tobacco use in the developing world, from 1985-2002. We utilized MEDLINE, PsycINFO, the Web of Science, EMBASE and other databases to search the English-language literature for studies focused exclusively on women's tobacco use in the developing world, or included women in a broader study. All selected studies (approximately 600 original articles and 250 other publications) were entered into a database, which was analyzed using qualitative and quantitative techniques. Preliminary analysis demonstrates that the prevalence of women's tobacco use varies greatly between and within regions, and between countries with different income levels. We found no original articles with information on women for 47% of developing nations (53% of low-income economies; 61% of African nations). Only a very small percentage of studies focus on women's knowledge and attitudes, prevention of tobacco use initiation or tobacco use cessation. In addition, a gender framework is often missing from research designs and not every study reports gender specific prevalence rates. Our results call attention to the research gaps and highlight the need to focus attention on women's tobacco use in developing countries.

Learning Objectives:

• Recognize the importance of preventing and reducing an increase in women's tobacco use in low- and middle-income nations.
• describe the type of research currently being done that relates to women's tobacco use
• identify the research gaps and research needs in this area.

Keywords: Tobacco, Women

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.