Effectiveness Evaluation Of Tobacco Control Advocacy Behavioral Capacity Intervention Among Public Health Faculties

BackgroundTobacco epidemic is currently the world’s most serious pubic health problem. More than one billion people worldwide currently smoke tobacco, and tobacco use currently kills more than five million people worldwide each year. China is the biggest tobacco production and consumption country. It is imperative to control tobacco.Several strategies have been shown to reduce tobacco use all over the world, including:tobacco control legislation, enforce bans on tobacco advertising, raise taxes on tobacco products.In addition to these measures at national levels, the school-based tobacco control activities have been proved to be a positive way. It is faculties who are the key role of these activities; they should not only set up the correct role model, but spread knowledge of smoking hazards and skills of refusing to smoke. The tobacco control related knowledge, attitude and behaviour capacity of them relates to the success of activities.However, many researches showed that there exist some problems with faculties’ tobacco-related cognition and behavior:such as poor understanding of the smoking hazards, weak tobacco control attitudes, insufficient tobacco control skills. It suggests that we need to strengthen faculties’ tobacco control related knowledge and skills by systematic training and intervention. Successful experiences on tobacco control show that:on one hand, improvement of faculties’ tobacco control behavior capacity can change tobacco-related cognize and behaviors of others, on the other hand, it can encourage them to promote policy advocacy. Therefore, it is necessary to enhance faculties’ advocacy behavior capacity for tobacco control.ObjectivesThe objective of this research is to find out tobacco control advocacy behavior capacity among public health faculties, in order to evaluate effect of tobacco control intervention and lay a good foundation for other tobacco control programs in China.Methods24universities with public health schools were chosen according to the geographical distribution and project needs. The questionnaire surveys were conducted to all the public health faculties who participated in the project, it included demographic characteristics, attitude and behavior towards tobacco control advocacy, self behavior and professional and academic ability of tobacco control, the assessment was conducted at three points:beginning (baseline), middle (at6months) and end (at12months) of the project. Appropriate statistic methods were used according to the research objectives and data characteristics. For this research, we used simple descriptive statistical method, one-factor analysis of variance, repeated measures analysis of variance and multiple factor logistic regression model.ResultsA total of198public health faculties were approached to participate in the study. The number of effective questionnaire returns at the end of the program was170. Of the respondents (N=170), male faculties reached74, accounted for43.5%, and female faculties reached96, accounted for56.5%. By repeated measures analysis of variance, the effectiveness of the intervention indicated that:After the preventing work, the rate of the attention on tobacco control information has significantly improved.After the preventing work, public health faculties’ advocacy attitude towards tobacco control has significantly improved. After intervention, the prevalence of smoking decreased slightly in public health faculties, which did not reach the level of statistical significance. But the anti-second-hand smoke behavior has significantly improved. After intervention the number of faculties who tried to advocacy their family or friends away from smoking increase, with statistical significance. After intervention the number of who published tobacco control related papers and participate in tobacco control related activities increased, with statistical significance. But the number of who applied projects increased slightly, which did not reach the level of statistical significance.ConclusionThis is the first study assessing the advocacy behavior capacity of public health faculties toward tobacco control. After intervention, their attitude towards tobacco control improved obviously, the number of who tried to advocacy their family or friends away from smoking increased, and their professional and academic ability of tobacco control improved as well. The comprehensiveness measures of the education, training, practice activities organization and policy advocacy of tobacco control carried out in public health faculties were effective.