Students from the Pima County Racial and Ethnic Approaches to Community Health (REACH) coalition, the TUSD Tribal Images Youth Council and the Tucson Native Youth Council have developed four Public Service Announcement (PSA) videos to influence non-vaping among American Indian and Alaska Native (AIAN) youth in Pima County.
“These young people have done a great job creating culturally focused PSA’s, especially during this period of social distancing,” said Kelsey Yonnie, REACH program coordinator. The PSAs ask youth to choose NOT to vape or have a tobacco habit, and to choose AIAN culture, traditions, and leadership.
The Pima REACH program is a CDC-funded partnership between Pima County and the American Indian Research Center for Health (AIRCH) in FCM, to reduce racial and ethnic health disparities.
“Our responsibility at AIRCH in the partnership is to assist the Pima County Health Department reach out and engage the American Indian community in improving a wide range of health issues,” said Teshia Solomon, PhD, associate professor at FCM and principal investigator for REACH.
“We want all people to reach their full potential to remove barriers that allow health inequities to persist,” said Francisco Garcia, MD, principal investigator for Pima County. The project focuses on interventions to improve nutrition, increase physical activity and decrease commercial tobacco use.
Cigarette use continues to be significantly higher among AI/AN youth. According to the FDA, the dramatic increase of vaping in youth has risen by 1.8 million from 2018 compared to 2019.
The videos give facts and encourage youth to connect with culture and traditions, and be a leader in their community. View videos | Learn more about Pima County’s REACH Program | Learn more about the REACH program