Online Program

275283
Evaluation of a state and community initiative to increase tobacco-free recreation policies in Maine


Tuesday, November 5, 2013

Ruth Dufresne, SM, Center for Excellence in Health Innovation, University of New England, Portland, ME
Garth Smith, Maine Center for Disease Control, DHHS, Augusta, ME
The Partnership For A Tobacco-Free Maine (PTM) is a comprehensive tobacco prevention and control program. One of many initiatives PTM uses to prevent youth tobacco use is community tobacco-free recreation policies. PTM collaborates with Maine's local public health infrastructure, the Healthy Maine Partnerships (HMPs) to promote tobacco-free recreation policies in municipalities and communities and give them tools for developing policies that promote tobacco-free environments. PTM provides signage after a policy is reviewed, meets PTM criteria, and is adopted. Data sources used to evaluate the Tobacco-Free Recreation Policy Initiative include: 1) PTM database of accepted policies; 2) HMP process evaluation (KIT – a web-based management information system,) Strategies Logs, and Settings Workbooks; and 3) HMP Evaluation Municipalities Environmental Indicators Survey. Results show that: 1) HMPs have worked with 398 community agencies to encourage municipalities to develop tobacco-free community recreation policies. This has resulted in 45 municipalities with new tobacco-free community recreation policies. 2) 80 tobacco-free community policies have been submitted to and meet PTMs criteria. 3) 58% of municipalities reported owning or operating recreation fields or parks open to the public in 2011 (n=490), the same as in previous years (2004 (n=480) and 2007 (n=477). Among municipalities with town owned or operated recreation fields or parks, there has been a steady increase in the percentage of municipalities reporting tobacco-free policies on these fields or parks from 20% in 2004 to 34% in 2007 and 47% in 2011.

Learning Areas:

Conduct evaluation related to programs, research, and other areas of practice
Public health or related public policy

Learning Objectives:
List three data sources that can be used to evaluate increases in tobacco-free community policies Demonstrate the theory of change for how tobacco-free community policies contribute to short-term, intermediate, and long-term objectives

Keyword(s): Evaluation, Tobacco Policy

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: Ruth Dufresne is the Lead Evaluator for the Partnership For A Tobacco-Free Maine.
Any relevant financial relationships? Yes

Name of Organization Clinical/Research Area Type of relationship
University of New England Tobacco Prevention & Control Employment (includes retainer)

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.