Assessment tool for statewide advocacy groups - 7/21/06

Q: We are recommending that our state tobacco advocacy group do an assessment of current activities, strengths and weaknesses statewide around tobacco. Do you know about an assessment tool that exists for use by advocacy groups for statewide activities If so, do you have experience using it?

A:

California - We assess current activities at the local level, and therefore, each of our 61 local health departments assesses the environment every three years to help determine the priorities for their three year scopes of work. The local assessment is known as the Communities of Excellence (CX) indicators, and while we did not create it with a state assessment in mind, it might be tailored to review a state's tobacco control environment. The latest CX version can be downloaded from our website at http://www.dhs.ca.gov/tobacco/documents/pubs/CXmanual-all.pdf. An update will be produced later this year.

As far as the state is concerned, our Tobacco Education and Research Oversight Committee issues a Master Plan for tobacco control in California every three years. It is not as methodical as the local assessments, but the Master Plan does review the tobacco control landscape, current prevalence and consumption, policy achievements, and major objectives and activities that will help to reduce prevalence over the next three years. The Master Plan can be downloaded from our website at http://www.dhs.ca.gov/tobacco/documents/pubs/MasterPlan05.pdf

Ohio - I borrowed this form from Coletta Reid (New Mexico) and adjusted it for Tobacco on a statewide level for community networks. We have not used it yet, but you may wish to try it.

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