Learning Objectives: define Sense of Coherence (SOC) and understand its relationship to smoking in a low income urban African American population.
Abstract: Objective
Participants will be able to define Sense of Coherence (SOC) and understand its relationship to smoking in a low income urban African American population.
Methods
The Urban African American Community High Blood Pressure Control Program (BPCP), funded by NHLBI, was completed in 1997. Researchers from Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions worked in partnership with the community in all aspects of the research. Data from the BPCP evaluation survey (n=463) were used to examine SOC and its relationship to smoking among low-income African-Americans with hypertension. SOC is a construct designed to measure a sense of meaningfulness, manageability, and comprehensibility. An existing SOC scale was modified based on feedback from a community advisory board, Community Health Workers, and cognitive pretesting interviews (alpha=.84, 5 point Likert scale of 11 items, range 11-55 points).
Results
· 41% reported being current smokers · Not smoking was associated with older age (OR=.94), female gender (OR=.57), and higher SOC (OR=.94) · 5 point difference in SOC associated with OR=.72
· Among smokers, 28% reported smoking one pack or more per day · Those with higher SOC smoked fewer cigarettes (OR of 1 pack or more/day=.92, CI .88-.97); among smokers, only SOC predicted # of cigarettes smoked per day.
Discussion
Sense of coherence is associated with smoking behavior. Program planners and researchers should consider using SOC and the salutogenic perspective it is based on to create strengths-based tobacco control programs.
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