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Disseminating an Evidence-based Tobacco Control Intervention for School Teachers in India

Not Applicable
Completed
Conditions
Tobacco Use Cessation
Interventions
Other: Tobacco Free Teachers, Tobacco Free Society program
Registration Number
NCT05346991
Lead Sponsor
Glorian Sorensen
Brief Summary

Disseminating an evidence-based tobacco control intervention for School Teachers

Detailed Description

There is a profound need for evidence-based interventions that promote tobacco control on a large scale, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. In India in 2010 alone, tobacco use accounted for over one million deaths. The overall goal of this study is to identify effective strategies for broad-based implementation of evidence-based tobacco control interventions that can be embedded in existing organizational infrastructures and accommodate the realities of low-resource settings. This study builds on an intervention for school teachers, called the Tobacco-Free Teachers/Tobacco-Free Society (TFT-TFS) program, shown to be efficacious in increasing tobacco use cessation and tobacco policy implementation in a cluster randomized controlled trial in the Bihar School Teachers' Study (BSTS). Teachers in India are an important channel for promoting tobacco control, given their roles as community leaders and role models. The next logical step in this research is to develop the knowledge, products and processes needed to take this intervention to scale and disseminate it through readily accessible and sustainable channels. Investigators will test an implementation model for building capacity within education departments to support and deliver this program within schools, using the existing infrastructure for curriculum training in state education departments. Within each state in India, schools are organized within clusters, and cluster coordinators are responsible for directly training principals about curriculum issues. The investigators will build the capacity of cluster coordinators to train and support principals in implementing the TFT-TFS program in their schools. The central research question of this study is: Will this evidence-based intervention be successfully adopted, implemented, and sustained through existing channels using this implementation process? The specific aims are to: (1) determine the extent to which this implementation model meets acceptable rates of program adoption, implementation, reach and maintenance of the TFT-TFS program among schools in the Indian state of Bihar; (2) determine program effectiveness in increasing tobacco use cessation and implementation of tobacco control policies in schools; (3) determine the feasibility of building the capacity of cluster coordinators to train and support principals in program implementation and maintenance in schools, and for the Department of Education to sustain the program; and (4) determine the direct financial costs of program implementation and maintenance. This study uses a non-inferiority design to test the primary hypothesis that program adoption, implementation, and reach will not be inferior to the high standards demonstrated in BSTS; and assesses program effectiveness in improving tobacco use cessation and increasing policy implementation using a cluster randomized design. This research is innovative because it systematically examines the process of scaling up one of the first evidence-based approaches to tobacco use cessation among adults in India. This study is significant because it is expected to improve understanding of implementation processes needed for taking evidence-based interventions to scale.

Recruitment & Eligibility

Status
COMPLETED
Sex
All
Target Recruitment
1102
Inclusion Criteria
  • All teachers and principals employed in intervention and control schools
Exclusion Criteria
  • None

Study & Design

Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Study Design
PARALLEL
Arm && Interventions
GroupInterventionDescription
Intervention armTobacco Free Teachers, Tobacco Free Society programImplementation of the Tobacco-Free Teachers, Tobacco Free Society program in government schools in Bihar, India
Primary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Tobacco use cessation among teachersImmediately post-intervention

Self-administered Teacher's Survey completed by teachers. Using survey data, compute 7- and 30-day quit prevalence among teachers who reported using any tobacco in the last 9 months (the length of the academic year), and compare measures between intervention and control schools

Secondary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
School tobacco control policy implementation - School ObservationImmediately post-intervention

School Observation Checklist completed by an independent evaluator. Observations include the number of physical locations in the school and grounds with evidence of tobacco use (range 0 - 10, lower score indicates less evidence of tobacco use).

School tobacco control policy implementation - Teachers' ReportImmediately post-intervention

Self-administered Teacher's Survey completed by teachers. Using survey data, compute a composite score of five questions regarding presence of a tobacco policy and it's enforcement at the school (range 0-5, higher score indicates stricter policy.

Trial Locations

Locations (2)

Healis Sekhsaria Institute for Public Health

🇮🇳

Mumbai, India

Dana-Farber Cancer Institute

🇺🇸

Boston, Massachusetts, United States

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