Initiative Description: A tobacco use prevention curriculum tailored for deaf/hard of hearing youth. The curriculum includes seven lessons at each grade level focusing (appropriately for age and grade) on: the health effects of tobacco use (and second hand smoke exposure); addiction; industry marketing and youth manipulation; anti-tobacco efforts and social action to change smoking norms and patterns; self-esteem and self-concept; the influence of friends and peers; and decision making. The program emphasized visual elements, graphic design, and hands-on activities; use of images of deaf and hard of hearing youth and examples from the lives of deaf and hard of hearing students; appropriate pacing of material, repetition of basic concepts, and simple language usage.

Study Results: Improved knowledge and refusal attitudes related to tobacco use, + reduced smoking

Reference: Berman, B. A., Guthmann, D. S., Crespi, C. M., & Liu, W. (2011). Development and testing of an antitobacco school-based curriculum for deaf and hard of hearing youth. American Annals of the Deaf, 155(5), 592–604. https://doi.org/10.1353/aad.2011.0009

Level of Evidence: Good