Community planning supports the four goals of the Tobacco Prevention and Education Program (TPEP). These goals can be best achieved by increasing the number of organizations and individuals involved in planning and conducting community-level education and training programs; placing pro-health messages that inform, educate, and support local tobacco control initiatives and policies; promoting the adoption of public and private tobacco control policies; and measuring outcomes through surveillance and evaluation techniques.
To achieve the individual behavioral change that supports the nonuse of tobacco, communities must change the way tobacco is promoted, sold, and used while changing the knowledge, attitudes, and practices of youth, both tobacco users and nonusers. Through Community Planning, TPEP organizes tobacco control coalitions to represent geographic areas (i.e., Hawai'i Island Tobacco-Free Partnership (West Hawai'i), Hawai'i Island Tobacco-Free Partnership (East Hawai'i), Maui Tobacco-Free Partnership, Tobacco-Free Hawai'i, Tobacco-Free O'ahu, Tobacco-Free Moloka'i) and special populations to create community capacity. Coalitions are encouraged to be representative of the populations in their communities. (TPEP works closely with Tobacco-Free Hawai'i.) Effective community programs involve people in their homes, work sites, schools, places of worship and entertainment, civic organizations, and other settings. The Statewide Coalition Coordinator serves as the TPEP liaison to other community organizations (e.g., the Kokua Kalihi Valley/Kalihi-Pālama Perinatal Smoking Cessation Advisory Group and the Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgendered Coalition).
Community Planning provides oversight and contracts for community-based coordinators, serving as a contact for them and providing payment to them based on reports. Oversight is also provided to the Basic Tobacco Intervention Skills Certification Program. The Statewide Coalition Coordinator coordinates the Statewide Tobacco Control Conference, held every other year, and assists in coordinating the Statewide Tobacco Control Strategies Plan. TPEP also provides training, technical support, and funding for community initiatives by delivering training, serving as a source contact for the community, and providing resources (e.g., current data, materials such as brochures and videos).
Return To Homepage
