Learning Objectives: Describe the specific aims of the Services Tobacco Addiction Reduction (STAR) project, a comprehensive tobacco control program for the Department of Defense. Overview the unique history of tobacco use in the military and how the military has been targeted by the tobacco industry. Describe the unique features of the Department of Defense that were considered when tailoring a comprehensive tobacco intervention. List the principle characteristics of the STAR Military Base Community Intervention Training Program and features which render it different from other tobacco training programs. List and describe the empirical support for the key components of the STAR Military Base Community Intervention Plan. Explain the unique evaluation methods used to examine the effectiveness of the STAR project and how those methods could be applied to other tobacco control efforts.
Abstract: This panel will overview a large multi-site community clinical trial in the U.S. military developed to test an empirically-based community tobacco control program. The emphasis of the program is to produce a change in the capacity of the community to deliver optimal tobacco interventions and create a community that supports being tobacco free. The design of the trial involved identifying sixteen military bases, four each from the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines, and randomizing them to the tobacco control program or to usual care. At the beginning of the study, a cohort of 150 smokers was identified at each base. Study outcome will be determined at 18 months by the smoking status of cohorts from both control and experimental conditions. The panel will present a detailed overview of four key features of the project: (1) the unique methodology used to assess project effectiveness; (2) methods used to integrate activities into the military culture; (3) how community-based tobacco intervention training was used to promote a tobacco free culture, and (4) a detailed description of targeted tobacco interventions on each military base. The target audience for this presentation includes public health workers, tobacco researchers, and those interested in tailoring tobacco control programs to highly specific populations. Presentation materials will include lecture, a PowerPoint presentation, video, and discussion. Both academic and military personnel will serve as panel members. Benefits include an overview of an important study, insight into a successful academic-military partnership, and introduction to empirically-based approaches to community intervention.
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