SBIR-STTR Award

Five hundred thirty-four counties in 18 states are home to 29,497,852 persons and grow tobacco. Data indicate youth in these areas use tobacco earlier and use it more frequently. Tobacco communities have a unique perspective based on the cultural, social, and economic import of tobacco which requires a sensitive approach to adolescent cessation efforts. This project will develop prototypes of a culturally congruent, age-appropriate, gender-specific Resource Kit for Adolescent Tobacco Cessation in Tobacco-Growing Communities. By the end of Phase II, the Kit respectively will address males and females in the 12 to 14 and 15 to 17 age groups. Based on findings and relying on sound cessation science, the firm will develop in Phase II a uniquely designed cessation program and supplemental materials for these youth. In Phase I, one module of the cessation program and complementary materials will be developed for girls aged 12 to 14 who use tobacco and live in tobacco-raising communities. Staff will conduct focus groups to understand how these girls perceive tobacco and cessation. Staff will interview key informants for their perspective. We will conduct feasibility tests with the young women and cessation professionals from tobacco-raising communities. We will document our research in a monograph. PROPOSED COMMERCIAL APPLICATION: The Resource Kit will be marketed extensively through the 18 states where tobacco-growing counties are home to 29 million Americans. The many health departments, community-based organizations, hospitals, health clinics, and school in these communities will provide a rich market. Several tobacco states have set aside funds for youth tobacco cessation.

Thesaurus Terms:
adolescence (12-18), smoking cessation, technology /technique development, tobacco abuse age difference, cancer prevention, gender difference, smokeless tobacco human subject, interview

Five hundred thirty-four counties in 18 states are home to 29,497,852 persons and grow tobacco. Data indicate youth in these areas use tobacco earlier and use it more frequently. Tobacco communities have a unique perspective based on the cultural, social, and economic import of tobacco which requires a sensitive approach to adolescent cessation efforts. This project will develop a culturally congruent Resource Kit for Adolescent Tobacco Cessation in Tobacco-Growing Communities. The project will target tobacco-using males and females in high school. Based upon formative research conducted in tobacco-producing communities, Toborg Associates will develop a cessation curriculum, related health education materials, and short videos. In a randomized controlled pre-test/post-test study, Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation (PIRE) will assess the efficacy of the curriculum and related materials. PIRE will randomize 20 NC schools in large tobacco-growing communities into experimental and control conditions, enrolling an average of 24 tobacco using youth in each school. Toborg Associates will conduct a pre-test prior to the intervention and implement the full curriculum in the experimental schools as well as an intervention that controls for attention and content in the control schools. At the end of the 6-week intervention, PIKE will conduct a post-test of youth in both conditions and biochemically validate self-reports concerning the use and non-use of tobacco. PIRE will conduct a follow-up survey at three months after post-test and again biochemically validate self-reports.

Thesaurus Terms:
adolescence (12-20), behavior modification, curriculum, educational resource design /development, smoking cessation, tobacco abuse, tobacco abuse education age difference, cancer prevention, gender difference, longitudinal human study, smokeless tobacco behavioral /social science research tag, clinical research, human subject, interview, videotape /videodisc