Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2009, 6(4), 1298-1316; doi:10.3390/ijerph6041298
A School-Based Environmental Intervention to Reduce Smoking among High School Students: The Acadiana Coalition of Teens against Tobacco (ACTT)
Carolyn C. Johnson 1,*
, Leann Myers 2, Larry S. Webber 2, Neil W. Boris 3, Hao He 2 and Dixye Brewer 4
, Leann Myers 2, Larry S. Webber 2, Neil W. Boris 3, Hao He 2 and Dixye Brewer 41
Department of Community Health Sciences, Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine / 1440 Canal Street, Suite 2301, New Orleans, Louisiana, 70112, USA
2
Department of Biostatistics, Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine / 1440 Canal Street, Suite 2001, New Orleans, Louisiana, 70112, USA
3
Department of Psychiatry and Neurology, Tulane University School of Medicine / 1440 Canal Street, New Orleans, Louisiana, 70112, USA
4
Tangipahoa Parish Health Unit, 15481 Club Deluxe Road, Hammond, Louisiana, 70403, USA
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Received: 30 December 2008 / Accepted: 10 March 2009 / Published: 27 March 2009
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Smoking and Tobacco Control)
Abstract
A school-based environmental program to reduce adolescent smoking was conducted in 20 schools (10 intervention; 10 control) in south central Louisiana. The 9th grade cohort (n = 4,763; mean age = 15.4 yrs; 51% female; 61% Caucasian; 30-day smoking prevalence at baseline = 25%) was followed over four years for 30-day smoking prevalence with the school as the unit of analysis. Although prevalence decreased in intervention schools and increased in control schools in Year 2 the significant difference between the two groups at baseline was not overcome by the intervention and increases in prevalence were observed in both groups in Years 3 and 4. The higher the percentage of white students in a school the higher the prevalence rates regardless of intervention/control status. Boys’ and girls’ smoking rates were similar. These outcome data, student feedback and process evaluation provide a basis for continuing to create more innovative adolescent tobacco control programs. View Full-TextKeywords:
Smoking prevalence; adolescents; high school; health promotion
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This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 3.0).
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Johnson, C.C.; Myers, L.; Webber, L.S.; Boris, N.W.; He, H.; Brewer, D. A School-Based Environmental Intervention to Reduce Smoking among High School Students: The Acadiana Coalition of Teens against Tobacco (ACTT). Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2009, 6, 1298-1316.
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Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health
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