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Eastern Washington University - Tobacco Survivor Challenge
Public university located in Cheney, Washington
Enrollment: 8,934 (7,958 undergraduates)
Type/Category: Cessation and Education Program
Program: In winter 2001, Eastern Washington
University (EWU) offered a quarter-long Tobacco Survivor Challenge
program. The tobacco cessation program, based on popular reality
television concepts, was designed so that EWU students could
track the experiences of selected student participants as
they tried to quit using tobacco products. The program was
designed to target a large campus audience including current
tobacco users who want to quit, past smokers, and non-tobacco
users who may face pressures to start smoking. The Challenge
was promoted by posters, flyers, advertisements, and articles
in campus publications inviting students to participate. Health,
Wellness & Prevention, Student Life, Residential Life,
Spokane Regional Health District, and the Substance Abuse
Prevention Program were all involved in the program’s
design and implementation.
The Challenge required participants to:
- Participate in weekly interviews that were recorded and
later broadcast on campus
- Attend support meetings that included cessation curriculum
- Take part in weekly “challenges” that put
them in situations to test their self-identified tobacco
triggers. For example, one challenge required each participant
to watch someone else use tobacco and record their feelings
about the experience.
- Be honest about their experience during their interviews,
even if they relapsed
- Staff a smoking cessation table at EWU’s Health,
Wellness, and Clean Air Expo
Throughout the quarter, posters with supportive messages
and the challengers’ pictures were distributed around
campus. The Challenge received continuing attention through
the local media, and through advertisements and articles in
campus publications. Participants received $250 for completing
the Challenge program. Participants were not monitored or
otherwise required to stay tobacco-free. Success was determined
by their honest sharing during interviews and participation
in all meetings, events, and challenges.
Results: All participants agreed that the
Challenge and the exposure they received helped them to quit
or cut down on their tobacco use.
Future: The event has been repeated and
will take place during the 2003-2004 academic year. Health,
Wellness & Prevention will organize and lead the program,
with the cooperation of the Student Health Advisory Council
and the Fred Hutchinson Campus Health Action on Tobacco (CHAT)
study, a national study focusing on college students’
opinions about smoking and awareness of cessation services.
The event takes place during the spring quarter, but preparation
begins the summer before and continues thorough the year.
The project timeline is as follows:
- Summer quarter—Institutional Review Board submission,
printed material and logo development, strategic planning
- Fall quarter—hire videographers, finalize printed
material and applications for the project, finalize budget
and tasks
- Winter quarter—advertise and select challengers,
begin interviews, finalize planning for cessation classes
or programs and challenges, begin cessation classes prior
to spring break
- Spring quarter—cessation, interviews, and documentation
begin, publicity peaks, weekly challenges begin; the challenge
ends at the annual campus health fair prior to the end of
the academic year
Cost: EWU received $5,000 from the Spokane
Regional Health District for the program. A minimum of $3,000
is recommended to cover promotional materials, the challenge
events, and final prizes for participants.
Contact:
Michelle Pingree
Program Coordinator
Health, Wellness & Prevention Services
Michelle.pingree@mailserver.ewu.edu
Stuhealth@mail.ewu.edu
The case study brief was written in September 2003.
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