Learning Objectives: At the end of the panel session, attendees will be able to : 1. describe the evaluation planning process for the American Legacy Foundation’s youth empowerment program. 2. describe methods, challenges and significant findings from the Youth Group Member Survey 3. describe methods, challenges, and significant findings from the Youth Group Adult Coordinator survey
Abstract: Youth empowerment (YE) is a key strategy for changing social norms about tobacco control, a major objective of the American Legacy Foundation. In 1999, Legacy funded YE grants in 17 states to develop methods of engaging youth as tobacco control leaders. Legacy’s Coordinating Center for Applied Research and Evaluation is conducting a cross-site evaluation to determine the grants’ effectiveness in promoting individual-level change within these group settings and in achieving community-level tobacco control outcomes.
An overview of the process followed to develop a national and comprehensive evaluation plan will first be provided. Tools that were created to guide the evaluation planning will be presented. An explanation for the two types of evaluation studies currently underway, cross-site and in-depth, will also be provided with a sample of data collection instruments. The development of a conceptual framework, and its relationship to the evaluation instruments, will be described.
The Youth Group Member Survey collects information from youth who are involved in tobacco control activities in local youth groups. The presentation focuses on the level and type of participation, group structure, perceived individual self-efficacy and group outcome efficacy, and individual member characteristics.
The Youth Group Adult Coordinator Survey collects information on adult coordinators’ background, group characteristics, type and focus of group activities, group resources, levels of community support, governance of the groups, degree of youth participation in the decision making process, effectiveness of recruitment methods, and relationships with other tobacco control groups. Integrated analysis of adult coordinator data with data on youth group members is discussed.
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