Recorded presentation

Cathy L. Melvin, PhD, MPH, Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research and Smoke-Free Families National Dissemination Office, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 725 Airport Road, CB # 7590, Chapel Hill, ND 27599-7590, 919-966-8072, cathy_melvin@unc.edu, Leah Ranney, PhD, Sheps Center for Health Services Research, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 725 Airport Road, UNC-CH CB# 7590, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, and Catherine Rohweder, MPH, Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research, UNC-Chapel Hill, 725 Airport Road, CB# 7590, The University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-7590.

Launched in May 2002 the National Partnership to Help Pregnant Smokers Quit (National Partnership) is a diverse coalition of over 60 leading philanthropic, health, business and government organizations dedicated to getting pregnant women the help they want and the support they need to quit smoking and stay smoke-free. The National Partnership adopted, and is implementing, an Action Plan to provide proven clinical and community-based interventions to every pregnant smoker in the United States. The Action Plan describes proven strategies (healthcare, media, policy, research, communities/worksites, and state outreach) to make these interventions widely available. Working groups of representatives from partner organizations are implementing these strategies and partner organizations are sponsoring activities in support of the strategies.

This session will describe an evaluation plan designed to capture critical elements in creating and maintaining a national coalition, including benchmarks for monitoring progress in meeting National Partnership goals. Participants will learn how to develop, and initially implement, an evaluation of a nationwide action plan. Lessons learned about setting benchmarks and convening partners will be shared, solicited from others involved in similar partnerships, and discussed. Data on select overarching objectives and benchmarks will be used to illustrate progress made in 2002 on a wide range of activities including the development of provider training materials, promotion of a nationwide quit line, development of materials to increase the accessibility of prenatal smoking cessation in states, and tailoring programs for special populations, like Native Americans.

Learning Objectives:

• Understand the purpose and background of the National Partnership to Help Pregnant Smokers Quit
• List three benchmarks from the Partnership and how they are being measured
• Describe the progress of the working groups in achieving their goals based on the findings from the process evaluation

Keywords: Evaluation, Coalition

Related Web page: www.helppregnantsmokersquit.org

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.

Recorded presentation