Communicating Program Outcomes to Encourage Policymaker Support for Evidence-based State Tobacco Control

Overview

Journal Int J Environ Res Public Health

Publisher MDPI

Specialties Environmental Health
Public Health

Date 2014 Dec 9

PMID 25485977

Citations 9

Authors

Allison M Schmidt

Leah M Ranney

Adam O Goldstein

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Tobacco use, the leading cause of preventable death in the U.S., can be reduced through state-level tobacco prevention and cessation programs. In the absence of research about how to communicate the need for these programs to policymakers, this qualitative study aimed to understand the motivations and priorities of policymakers in North Carolina, a state that enacted a strong tobacco control program from 2003-2011, but drastically reduced funding in recent years. Six former legislators (three Democrats, three Republicans) and three lobbyists for health organizations were interviewed about their attitudes towards tobacco use, support of state-funded programs, and reactions to two policy briefs. Five themes emerged: (1) high awareness of tobacco-related health concerns but limited awareness of program impacts and funding, (2) the primacy of economic concerns in making policy decisions, (3) ideological differences in views of the state's role in tobacco control, (4) the impact of lobbyist and constituent in-person appeals, and (5) the utility of concise, contextualized data. These findings suggest that building relationships with policymakers to communicate ongoing program outcomes, emphasizing economic data, and developing a constituent advocacy group would be valuable to encourage continued support of state tobacco control programs.

Citing Articles

Research evidence communication for policy-makers: a rapid scoping review on frameworks, guidance and tools, and barriers and facilitators.

Barreto J, de Melo R, da Silva L, de Araujo B, de Freitas Oliveira C, Toma T Health Res Policy Syst. 2024; 22(1):99.

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Assessing the sustainability capacity of evidence-based programs in community and health settings.

Bacon C, Malone S, Prewitt K, Hackett R, Hastings M, Dexter S Front Health Serv. 2023; 2:1004167.

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Smokers' and Nonsmokers' Receptivity to Smoke-Free Policies and Pro- and Anti-Policy Messaging in Armenia and Georgia.

Topuridze M, Berg C, Dekanosidze A, Torosyan A, Grigoryan L, Bazarchyan A Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2020; 17(15).

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Development of the FDA Tobacco Credibility Scale (FDA-TCS).

Schmidt A, Ranney L, Noar S, Goldstein A Tob Regul Sci. 2017; 3(1):47-55.

PMID: 28638857 PMC: 5476309. DOI: 10.18001/TRS.3.1.5.

Reactions to smoke-free public policies and smoke-free home policies in the Republic of Georgia: results from a 2014 national survey.

Berg C, Topuridze M, Maglakelidze N, Starua L, Shishniashvili M, Kegler M Int J Public Health. 2016; 61(4):409-16.

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