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

Abstract #72483

Nancy L. VanDevanter, DrPH, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, 722 West 168th St., 10th Floor, New York, NY 10032, 212 305 1166, nlv1@columbia.edu

Despite a rich history and enormous cultural contributions, Harlem, like other African American communities, experiences significant health disparities. Excess mortality in Harlem can be partially explained by high rates of tobacco use: 41% of adults regularly smoke tobacco, a rate almost double that of the national average. This panel will present an academic-community partnership model that simultaneously assesses and builds capacity for tobacco control. Each presentation will illustrate the role of the Community Action Board (CAB) in the design and implementation of the data collection. Preliminary findings, and implications for intervention design and implementation will be described for each sub-population.

Presentation time: 15 minutes, each . Moderator: N. VanDevanter. Five abstracts as follows: 1.A Model Community Academic Partnership for Tobacco Control N VanDevanter (PI), CA Bennett (CAB chair) 2. Debunking perceptions of the “accepted evil”(key informant interview findings) Presenter: D. Ramjohn 3. Youth perspectives on tobacco use and control in Harlem Presenter: D. Dickerson 4. Adult perspectives on tobacco use and control in Harlem Presenter: E. Sutton 5. Determinates of smoking initiation in post adolescent African American women. Presenter: JM Howard.

Learning Objectives:

Participants will be able to 1.identify elements of community capacity
• methodology for capacity assessment
• describe the community based participatory reseach framework

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.