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Adaptation of the Smoke-free Teens On Purpose (S.T.O.P) smoking cessation intervention to address the psychosocial needs of urban African American youth in the Midwest

Kimberly Lovelady, MPH, School & Community Health, BJC HealthCare, 600 S. Taylor Ave. Ste 124, MailStop 90-94-205, St. Louis, MO 63110, 314-286-0433, kdw9879@bjc.org

In 2001, 32.6% of white and 14.4% African American Missouri high school students reported they had smoked one or more cigarettes during the past 30 days. In St. Louis few programs that target youth smoking are culturally specific and address smoking trends in African American youth. BJC HealthCare began implementing the Smoke-free Teens On Purpose (STOP) program in 2002 in African American communities, in an effort to reduce the premature death and illness from tobacco use by African Americans in St. Louis. Methods: STOP is a school based self-initiated tobacco use cessation intervention that began in 1999. It involves eight one-hour sessions and one-hour monthly follow-up sessions until the end of the school year for middle and high school students. In 2002 the program was adjusted to address “blunt” use, acknowledge cultural practices and attitudes, address cultural taboos and utilize staff that represents and understands the target African American culture. Results: After each full program implemented the reduction rate is 100% (n=237). Cigarette usage decreased from 1.5 packs to a mean of 9 cigarettes a day. Blunt use in African Americans teens decreased from 4 blunts a day to a mean of 1.5 blunts per week. The average success quit rate is 52% at a three to 12-month follow-up compared to the national quit rate of classroom-based programs at 17%. Conclusions: Every aspect of program planning should consider the target audience, particularly when working with urban African American youth. These areas include the lesson design, presentation of material and the ability of the facilitator to communicate in the language/euphemisms of the target audience.

Learning Objectives: Objectives