• Education
• Outreach
• Research
• Patient Care
• People

Community-based Training Models for Tobacco Cessation: Project Reach Hispanic/Latino Cultural Adaptation Supplement [NCI]

Myra Muramoto, MD, MPH

The Hispanic/Latino population is the largest and most rapidly growing minority group in the United States.  Approximately 16.7 percent of Hispanics reported being current smokers in 2001.  Hispanic/Latino individuals face several barriers to conventional healthcare and cessation services that may mitigate exposure to tobacco cessation information and programs.  Culturally appropriate training materials are a key component to effectively learning, practicing, and communicating tobacco cessation intervention skills. Tobacco control programs and other human service providers serving Hispanic/Latino populations have reported a lack of tobacco education materials that are appropriate for this audience. Multiple studies show that programs using culturally adapted materials are successful at communicating tobacco cessation strategies. Our research with tobacco control programs serving Hispanic/Latino communities in the four southwestern border states indicates a great need for culturally relevant materials; both Spanish-only and materials as well as culturally adapted English materials were noted to be equally critical (and lacking) component in community-based tobacco control efforts. The primary aim of this supplement is to develop a cultural adaptation of the current Project Reach brief tobacco cessation intervention curriculum. Both instructor and participant materials will be revised for cultural relevance to the Hispanic/Latino population, and cessation support materials for tobacco users will be translated into Spanish.  The secondary aim of the supplement is to pilot test the revised curriculum with individuals serving Hispanic/Latino communities for acceptability and relevance. Focus groups with pilot study participants will be held post-training to assess the cultural appropriateness, applicability and performance of the training in “real world” settings serving predominately Hispanic/Latino communities.