Promoting Smoke-free Multi-unit Affordable Housing in North Carolina Through a Health Communication Campaign
Creators: name: Ralston, Michelle
name: Wagner, Laura
name: Lebow-Skelley, Erin
name: Delgado, Daphne
name: Baker, Laura
Publisher: name: The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill University Libraries
Year: 2013

description: Background: Secondhand smoke exposure causes 50,000 deaths each year in adult nonsmokers in the United States. In multi-unit housing (e.g. apartments and condominiums), secondhand smoke moves through hallways, air ducts, and small spaces between units, contaminating the air in both smokers' and nonsmokers' units. The presence of secondhand smoke is of particular concern for low-income individuals residing in public housing and affordable housing, where there are higher rates of smoking and secondhand smoke exposure. Smoke-free policies in housing offer health benefits for both tenants and housing operators, including reduced risk of fire, and reduced maintenance and turnover costs for property owners. The 2012-2013 Capstone team partnered with the Tobacco Prevention and Control Branch (TPCB) to promote adoption of smoke-free policies among multi-unit affordable housing (MUAH) operators in North Carolina (NC), building on the work of the previous Capstone team. The 2011-2012 Capstone team surveyed NC tenants, housing managers, and owners regarding facilitators, motivators, and barriers to implementing smoke-free policies and created an online toolkit of materials and resources for housing operators who are interested in implementing smoke-free policies in their properties. Building off of these efforts, the 2012-2013 Capstone team designed a health communication campaign with two goals: 1) to decrease perceived barriers and increase perceived benefits to implementing smoke-free policies among MUAH operators who are contemplating policy adoption, and 2) to increase use of the online toolkit. Methods: We conducted interviews with MUAH operators and organizations to identify preferred and feasible communication channels and to collect narratives from MUAH operators who have implemented smoke-free policies. Based on a literature review and these formative research findings, we created health communication materials that included case studies and thematic content for the online toolkit, newsletter blurbs for housing organization e-newsletters, and a fact sheet to be disseminated at housing conferences. We then created plans for implementing and evaluating the health communication campaign. Finally, we pre-tested the fact sheet with an online survey sent to MUAH operators. Discussion: The Capstone team's work increased Capstone team members' skills in developing health communication campaigns and has important implications for TPCB, the state of North Carolina, and for the field of smoke-free housing. Our work contributed to TPCB's overall mission of promoting smoke-free environments and to TPCB's efforts to engage and build relationships with housing stakeholders, such as MUAH owners and managers. Our work also generated discussion and interest about smoke-free policies among MUAH operators and housing organizations. Smoke-free policies are relatively new to the housing industry, and smoke-free housing advocates around the country work to promote policies and share best practices and information. Our hope is that the health communication campaign will influence additional MUAH operators to adopt smoke-free policies, which will ultimately reduce secondhand smoke exposure among affordable housing residents in NC. Finally, we hope that the health communication materials and comprehensive approach to gathering and sharing operators' experiences will contribute to the growing literature regarding smoke-free multi-unit housing and will serve as a model for smoke-free policy advocates in other states.