Using Collaborative Approaches to Drive Tobacco Control Strategic Planning

Audience: Public health professionals who are planning and implementing tobacco control programming and/or working to impact policy change.

Key Points:

• National disease prevention and health promotion outcomes can be integrated into a comprehensive tobacco control and prevention request for proposal at the local, regional and state level.
• Multi-sector collaborations and strategic partnerships using a regional tobacco coalition are an effective way to advance policy.
  • The Health Promotion Council of Southeastern Pennsylvania (HPC) is a regional primary tobacco control contractor, funded by the Pennsylvania Department of Health.
  • HPC’s Southeastern Pennsylvania Tobacco Control Project (SEPA TCP) engaged in strategic planning to enhance efforts.
  • Guided by state and national themes and data, SEPA’s coalition shifted its focus to sustainability and impact through partnerships, direct services, policy, system, and environmental strategies
  • Process resulted in contracts to 25 service providers: 23 are changing context through policy, practice and/or system change; 24 are forging partnerships with other entities; and 22 are integrating tobacco and chronic diseases within community-based or healthcare sites.

Educational Experience: Presenter will explain the planning and implementation of the strategic planning process in detail. Participants will have opportunities to discuss how this type of planning process would benefit their work, with feedback from other participants and presenter.

Benefits: It is vital for public health professionals to synthesize state and national themes and data to guide our tobacco control efforts. This planning process demonstrates an effort to align the needs of a region with state and national trends.