Sustaining tobacco programs: Health department teams using evidence-based approaches

Audience:

The session is directed at local tobacco control program staff working with coalitions through the health department or other community organizations.  State-level tobacco control and prevention workers who work with local communities and/or coalitions will also benefit.

Key Points:

Strategic planning has been effective in coalition development and action planning for sustained tobacco control and prevention efforts.  Through action planning meetings, the National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO) and the National Association of Local Boards of Health (NALBOH) have disseminated information on evidence-based practices, worked with coalitions to examine the challenges facing their communities, and guided the development of action plans.  NACCHO and NALBOH’s work with local communities has helped move forward a number of local tobacco control policies and provides a model for other communities working with a diverse local coalition.  The speakers will highlight examples from different geographic regions and various sized jurisdictions.

Educational Experience:

The capacity-building exercise, using the Action Planning Tool, will focus on how to work with a pre-existing or new coalition to select goals and activities that address their community’s tobacco control and prevention needs.

Benefits:

This session will detail the process that NACCHO and NALBOH have used to support local tobacco prevention and control coalitions.  It will also describe the tactics and progress made by individual communities and provide tips for other LHDs that are looking to increase use of evidence-based practices and engage in action planning to reduce the burden of tobacco in their communities.