Innovative Tobacco Control Curriculum Tested in Mumbai, India

An innovative HHD tobacco control curriculum for youth commissioned by the World Health Organization (WHO) received rave reviews recently from focus groups of teachers and students in Mumbai, India. The cornerstone of the curriculum is the belief that youth involvement is critical not only to prevent young people from starting to smoke but also to involve them as advocates in their neighborhoods, villages and countries.

The skills-based curriculum, called the Model School Health Tobacco Control Intervention, draws on extensive research that cites the importance of using environmental approaches to promote health. The curriculum is based on a methodology that has been tested and used successfully by HHD's Teenage Health Teaching Modules and Skills for Health – Skills-Based Health Education Including Life Skills developed by HHD, UNICEF, WHO as well as other international partners.

The Model School Tobacco Control Intervention is comprised of six lessons with advocacy exercises focused on critical thinking, persuasion, communication, action planning, leadership, media literacy, data analysis and policy development.

According to the Global Youth Tobacco Survey, conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) a nd WHO, half of students between the ages of 13 and 15 in Calcutta reported living in homes where others smoke. Eighteen percent of the students surveyed reported that they currently use some form of tobacco.

Teachers of various subjects at nine secondary schools — three each in India, Ghana, and Mexico — are pilot-testing the Model School Tobacco Control Intervention. The pilot test is evaluating how efficiently the curriculum may be implemented as a stand-alone piece in real classroom conditions world wide. In addition to participating in focus groups, teachers are filling out detailed questionnaires on the feasibility of teaching the lessons, the relevancy of scenarios, situations, methods and assessment as well as other topics.

“I'd like this intervention to become an examinable subject and part of the regular curriculum,” said an eighth-grade English teacher at St. John's School in Mumbai who participated in the focus group. “It would be a great part of civics or community living.”

Eighth-grade students from the St. John's School in Mumbai said they enjoyed the curriculum activities such as mapping the tobacco billboards in their communities, analyzing tobacco advertisements and learning about effective advocacy strate gies, said Wendy Santis, a curriculum developer and senior research development associate with HHD Global Programs.

“It would be wonderful if we could include a workshop for parents as an optional activity,” said a participating ninth grade science and math teacher from the Somani School who also provided written comments for the focus group.

The students suggested adding an audiovisual or video piece or an optional community activity where they could go and talk with out-of-school youth in their local languages, said Santis, who conducted the focus group with the logistical help of the Salaam Bombay Foundation.

Students at the St. John's School created skits as an additional activity to the intervention. In one skit, students who pretended to be data collectors, members of the community and doctors talked about the dangers of smoking. In other skits, students demonstrated refusal skills, advocacy skills and focused on how peer pressure affects personal appearance.

“It was fascinating to see and hear t his innovative curriculum in action,” said Santis. “HHD values pilot tests and focus groups as an important way to improve their products. This pilot test affirmed that there is a demand for including the Model School Tobacco Control Intervention as part of the regular curriculum,” she said.