Preliminary Results from Evaluation of State-Sponsored Youth Tobacco Prevention Programming in Virginia: VCU’s Youth Tobacco Evaluation Project Ilene S. Speizer1, Diane Baer Wilson1, Brian N. Smith2, Melanie Bean2, Ramesh Ramakrishnan3, Elizabeth Fries2 1Department of Preventive Medicine and Community Health; 2Department of Psychology; 3Department of Biostatistics, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, USA Objective Provide details of the Youth Tobacco Evaluation Project process and outcome evaluation of the 109 youth tobacco prevention programs funded by Virginia Tobacco Settlement Foundation (VTSF) Present human subject issues Present lessons learned and preliminary results of the the pre-test outcome survey of youth in grades 6-12 (N=10,008) Tobacco Prevention Activities Skills-based Peer-led Parental involvement Media Cessation programs Single vs. multiple session Framework: Outcome Questionnaire Development Compendium programs by targeted knowledge, attitudes, skills and behavior impacts indicated in blue Preliminary Results from Pre-Test (N = 10,008) Single session programs CHAMPS Life Skills Training Positive Action Teens Against Tobacco Use Get Real About Tobacco Here’s Looking at You SMART Leaders END First Choice Science Tobacco and You Media Sharp Anti Tobacco Media Blitz Too Good for Drugs PERSONAL Knowledge of consequences Functional meanings Subjective expected utility SOCIO-DEMOGRAPHIC Age Low SES Developmental stage Gender Multiple session programs Self esteem Self efficacy Self image SMOKING STAGE Preparatory  Trying Experimental Regular Use Addiction ENVIRONMENTAL Accessibility Advertising Life Skills Training Here’s Looking at You Positive Action Personality Psychological well-being Skills for Action Life Skills Training Too Good for Drugs NOT END Get Real Parental use Sibling use Parental supervision and strictness Preparing for Drug Free Years Strengthening Families Skills for adolescents Across Ages Positive Action Get Real about Tobacco BEHAVIORAL Academic achievement Participation in sports & healthy behaviors Positive Action Science, Tobacco and You Teens Against Tobacco Use Positive Action Heart Power Across Ages NOT, END Get Real About Tobacco Peer use Social bonding Normative expectations Teens Against Tob. Use Here’s Looking at You SMART Leaders Too Good for Drugs CHAMPS Peer groups Other ad. behavs. (risk-taking) Life Skills Training; Skills for Adolescents; SMART Leaders; Too Good For Drugs; Strengthening Families; Here’s Looking at You; Positive Action, Teens Against Tobacco Use, CHAMPS, Anti Tobacco Media Blitz, NOT Behavioral skills Lessons Learned So Far Local programs, coalitions, & school boards have varying levels of evaluation experience Need detailed training for grantees with less experience Need evaluation component to be built into the original funding RFA Fielding the Evaluation Grantees: Required to participate to keep funding Trained on use of evaluation tools Regional trainings throughout VA in 2002 Support and follow-up on survey implementation Sent program appropriate tools Implement evaluation and return tools to YTEP Major limitation of project is that we do not have survey implementation budget Varying Target Populations and Sites for Activities All youth grades pre K–12th grade in-class and after school At-risk youth Pregnant or parenting youth - home visits Delinquent youth – in suspension or juvenile court system Parents of youth Community settings (e.g., YMCA, Boys and Girls Clubs, Local coalitions, faith-based) In first 10,008: Able to create ids for 9445 individuals (94.4% of sample non-missing data) Of these, 9054 have unique identifiers (96% unique, 301 non-unique) 90.5% of entire sample are uniquely identified Anonymous Linking Scheme Please write the number of letters in your last name in the box below. If you have 10 or more letters in your last name, please put a zero (0) in the box Number of letters in last name: Please circle the FIRST letter of your first name (your given name, not a nickname). For example, if your name is William, circle W. Do not circle B, for Bill, even if people call you that. A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Limitations Local implementation means low control over response and participation rates Not possible to include control sites Some more organized, better implemented programs started before tools developed Data not representative of a specific location or community, just representative of youth participating in VTSF funded programs Have representative sub-samples from school districts that surveyed all youth Conclusions Comprehensive design permits: Comparison of multiple implementations of the same program across different locations and settings Assessment of program fidelity Evaluation of Instructor perspectives Also possible to compare across varying programs for similar populations of youth Please write in your day of birth. For example, if your were born on June 23rd, you would write in 23 in the boxes below. If you were born on June 4th, you would write 04 in the boxes below. Day of birth: Please check the box beside your natural eye color. Black Green Hazel Blue Brown Other Acknowledgements: We would like to thank the Virginia Tobacco Settlement Foundation for financial support of this research. We also thank participating VTSF grantees for their participation and collaboration on this project.