Case Studies
Strategic Planning Process to Address Tobacco-Related Disparities in Arkansas
Lessons Learned
What were
the
important
elements to
the
intervention's
success?
- Statewide recognition of the leading role the Arkansas
Department of Health plays in conducting research on public health issues
- Assistance from the Office of Minority Health in identifying
prospective workgroup members
- Existence of the Hometown Health program to assist in workgroup
member and volunteer recruitment
- A skilled facilitator who was able to emphasize teambuilding at
the outset
- A staff epidemiologist who presented an honest evaluation of
the quality of the Arkansas data available
- An Assistant Coordinator from the Tobacco Program who dedicated
at least half her time to the project
- Service providers who were willing to develop
community/population assessments and educate the Workgroup
- Attendance at the Arkansas Minority Summit on Tobacco during
the strategic planning process
- Meeting with Dr. Robert G. Robinson of the CDC during the
strategic planning process
- CDC trainings which were exceptionally helpful
- An experienced evaluator who could attend all workgroup
meetings and debriefing sessions
- Technical assistance from the CDC contractor for evaluation
- Ability to recruit and retain a diverse workgroup who were very
active participants and took ownership of the process
Note to
Reader:
The
Disparities
Project
also
allowed
Tobacco
Prevention
Education
Program
(TPEP)
to
create
new
collaborations.
Often,
our
workgroup
members
were
learning
"Tobacco
101"
alongside
many new
members
of our
TPEP
staff.
Our
facilitator
helped
each of
us
understand
the true
value of
grassroots
efforts
in
tobacco
prevention,
while
our
evaluator
kept us
focused
on a
true
qualitative
evaluation
methodology.
Every
member
of the
workgroup
had a
unique
perspective
and a
true
desire
to
understand
how
prevalence
of
tobacco
use
prevents
parity
among
Arkansas
communities
as it
pertains
to
tobacco
related
diseases.
The TPEP
and
Disparities
Workgroup
collaboration
was
invaluable
because
communities
that
have, at
times,
been
absent
from the
decision-making
process
in
public
health
were
present,
knowledgeable,
and
participatory
during
the
implementation
of a
statewide
tobacco
prevention
and
education
initiative.
Describe the
policy
and/or
program
interventions
applicability/replicability
to other
sites, and
include
recommendations
for other
sites.
Arkansas
is a
state
beset
with
poverty,
low
educational
attainment,
hard-to-reach
rural
populations
and lack
of
community-based
infrastructure.
Even
with
these
barriers,
Arkansas
was able
to
develop
a
strategic
planning
process
and
document
that
will
guide
its
attempts
to
eliminate
tobacco-related
disparities.
Other
states
facing
similar
challenges
should
be able
to
replicate
the
process.
Describe the
challenges
faced, and
below each
challenge,
describe any
solutions
used to
correct or
reduce the
problem.
Challenge:
Inability
to secure
the
involvement
of the
Lesbian,
Gay,
Bisexual,
and
Transgender
(LGBT)
community,
the
predominantly
white voices
of the
Ozarks, and
the
predominantly
black voices
of the
Delta.
Solutions: Solutions were not found during the
strategic planning process, but these issues will be addressed during the
marketing of the plan. The input and buy-in of these populations will be sought.
It might have been easier to secure wider geographic involvement if all the
meetings had not been held in Little Rock.
Challenge: Lack of existing data on certain populations.
Solutions: Identifying the gaps in data was just
as important to the strategic planning process as the data that were available.
Challenge: Low turn-out of workgroup members for
meetings.
Solutions: Recruit greater representation from
around the state. Hold meetings in all areas of the state. Reduce number of
meetings and amount of time the meetings required.
Challenge: Lack of data from national and state
surveys for populations attempting to address.
Solutions: Insure that the state secures access to
data in advance of strategic planning process. Insure that state and national
groups gather and disseminate data relevant to all populations groups.
Challenge: To come to consensus about how to
address disparities.
Solutions: Hire an experienced facilitator who can
help the group focus constantly on its goal of coming up with a state plan.
What would
you have
done
differently?
- Recruit more representatives of different populations from
different geographic areas
- Rotate meetings around the state
- Make stipends and travel reimbursements available to encourage
community participation from distant parts of the state
- Break down The National Health Interview Survey data by state
- Establish a budget review process.
Lessons
Learned
Notes
- That population groups that experience disparities have limited
time to devote to meetings
- The importance of carrying the tobacco prevention message to
specific populations by people and organizations that are credible to them
- That the workgroup has to develop a means by which to
communicate with communities affected by disparities.
Page last modified 07/25/2007
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