Abstract:

The leading causes of death in Delaware between 2006 and 2010 were heart disease, cancer, respiratory disease, and stroke. It has been well documented that smoking increases the incidence of heart disease and lung cancer;therefore, effective smoking cessation programs play a critical role in decreasing the risks of developing heart disease and lung cancer.Although cigarette smoking by Delaware youths has declined, a new trend of tobacco use is emerging.The misconception that smoking cigars and cigarillos “is not really smoking,” coupled with the smokeless cigarette, is destined to increase the current levels of tobacco use among this population.

Program Life, a community-based smoking cessation program, wasdeveloped and introduced to Delaware’s Capitol Park community in Kent County.The program was designed to meet the four goals laid out in the 2005 Plan for a Tobacco-Free Delaware, with an emphasis placed on the final goal of decreasing the social acceptability of tobacco use.The anticipated benefits to the Capitol Park residents from Program Life were a decrease in heart attacks and lung cancer for the community residents, and a decrease in the number of illnesses related to second-hand smoke in the children who live in the Capitol Park community.

This article will describe the lessons learned based on community/public health multi-phase applications, the skills used, and the talents needed for building cultural competency and key stakeholder advocacy in the implementation of Program Life over a 3-year project cycle. The translation of knowledge and theory to real-world public health practice for the evaluation of chronic disease prevention outcomes will be presented in the context ofan under-served and recognized hard-to-reach community in the state of Delaware.

Keywords:

Community education, engagement, research, youth program, smoking cessation, primary prevention.