The golden rule in developing a tobacco use cessation program is to know your audience. Know their demographics, their education, their risk factors, their culture, their attitudes toward smoking, their beliefs about quitting, and their current behaviors. Know what channels of communication work best: email, telephone, mail, personal visitation, etc. If all levels are available and will be effective, do not hesitate to use them all. Barraging an individual with a variety of communication channels increases thechances s/he will pay attention. Know what social activities are most popular, and incorporate them into your program. An often over-looked, but crucial piece of knowledge includes knowing what language to use: many high-risk groups do not speak English well, though they may be reluctant to communicate this fact. Moreover, you will also need to know their reading levels—developing reading materials for a high school graduate will not be beneficial for an illiterate person who has basically noeducation. (A good rule of thumb when developing materials is use a fifth to sixth grade reading level.) Finally, incorporate whatever community knowledge is available about norms, values, attitudes, etc. into your program in order to increase your accessibility and success rate.

Knowing your audience includes knowing about your audience’s community: its culture, its beliefs, and the availability of local resources. For example, if a local health clinic is available within the community, work withits staff to provide a united cessation message. Ask local church groups to advocate for cessation and to help offer support. For your program to be successful, people must be aware that is exists, and involving community leaders and other community groups increases this awareness of your program’s availability. Basically, the more external support provided by a community, the more participation and success your program will have.

Skill Areas:
A Ability to work with target group members in using baseline survey findings to design locally relevant programs

B Ability to secure significant participation by local leaders in program activities

C Ability to design or tailor programs that pose few barriers to participation by target group members (including barriers related to culture, language, place, transportation, and timing)

D Ability to reflect prevailing cultural norms, values and preferences in program activities

E Ability to reflect the diversity of the community’s population (and the fact that different population groups have different needs) in the program design

F Ability to identify local resources (e.g., people, knowledge, experience and funds) that can support program goals