Tony Long, BS, Michael G. Meyer, and Mary A. Toborg, MPA. Toborg Associates, Inc., 1129 Twentieth Street, N.W., Suite 108, Washington, DC 20036-3403, 202-776-0112, ca.long@toborg.net

Smoking rates in Appalachia exceed those in the rest of the nation. Moreover, tobacco is an important cash crop in many Appalachian communities, and as a result, efforts to restrict smoking in public places in Appalachia often lag behind those in the rest of the nation. Consequently, young children in many Appalachian communities face an elevated risk of exposure to secondhand smoke. This intervention educates Appalachian parents, and staff of programs that serve young children, about the health risks that secondhand smoke poses to young children and about ways to protect their children from those risks. The secondhand smoke training program consists of a 10-minute video, followed by a group discussion; the program takes less than one hour to deliver. Currently, it is being implemented in Gallia and Meigs Counties, Ohio; Mingo County, West Virginia; and Buncombe County, North Carolina. Through 8/31/03, a total of 1,062 persons had been trained. 82% of parents said at two months that they were protecting children more than they would have otherwise. 91% rated the helpfulness of the training as 6-9 on a 9-point scale. 99% rated the likelihood of protecting their children from Environmental Tobacco Smoke (ETS) in the future as 6-9 on a 9-point scale. Appalachian parents will take actions to protect their young children from the health risks of secondhand smoke when they are educated, in a culturally appropriate way, about those risks and about ways to protect youth from them.

Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the session, the participant in this session will be able to

(
• List five attributes of a culturally sensitive approach to secondhand smoke prevention in Appalachia; (
• describe the application of these cultural attributes to educational activities undertaken by one such program in four Appalachian counties in three states; and (
• discuss the efficacy of this culturally senstive program.

Keywords: Tobacco, Child Health Promotion

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.