Learning Objectives: utilize various data sources to develop an evidence-based resource allocation model that characterizes the tobacco-related needs of their particular community.
Abstract: Problem/Objective--In an era of shrinking budgets and increasing demand for accountability, it is more important than ever that funding decisions are evidence-based. The objective of the Tobacco Control & Prevention Resource Allocation Model (TRAM) is to develop an evidence-based needs assessment model to inform funding decisions for the eight geographical regions that comprise Los Angeles County.
Methods--In order to characterize the tobacco-related needs of Los Angeles County, indicators of disease burden, tobacco use behaviors, and socio-economic status were obtained from multiple sources including vital statistics, Los Angeles County Health Survey, and CDC SAMMEC software. Specific indicators include: smoking-attributable mortality, years of potential life lost (YPLLS) for tobacco-related diseases, current smoking and heavy smoking prevalence, and poverty level. Two summary scores were derived for each region–one an average of the five standardized indicators and the other, the summary score weighted by each region's population size.
Results–TRAM was successful in characterizing the tobacco-related needs of the county regions. For example, the northern region was ranked highest on four out of the five indicators including current smoking, heavy smoking, tobacco-related mortality, and YPLLS. Correspondingly, this region ranked highest on the summary score and projected funding allocation.
Discussion–TRAM provides an evidenced-based methodology for informing funding decisions, diagnosing tobacco-related community needs, and identifying specific tobacco problems for future control and prevention efforts. Moreover, the methodology can be easily extended to assess the comprehensive health needs of a community or specific areas such as alcohol/drug use, obesity, and health care access/quality.
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