I am working in a proyect in schols to get students dont smoke , or smoke less.
I am traying to improve quality of education and i hope i can obtain the CD Rom
Thanks
Leonardo Vejar
Hospital Sotero del Rio
Chile
Can you tell us more about the off-line ASPIRE program -- both how it was designed and what effects it had? (I wonder, for example, whether it had the same balance between game play and testimonies from kids and what results its balance produced.)
I wonder: do you find that your program prompts players to repeat play, or that they tend to go through the whole program once? Have you determined that, for maximum impact, our program must be used multiple numbers of times? If so: have built inducements that bring them back repeatedly?
Dear Diane,
Thanks for your questions regarding ASPIRE. The "off-line" ASPIRE curriculum was designed using the Transtheoretical Model, Social Cognitive Theory, and Addiction Framework as its theoretical underpinnings. To avoid the well-known problem with smokers' recruitment, we decided to make the curriculum relevant to the entire classroom - both smokers and nonsmokers. The brief survey channels the user to the relevant education path depending on the smoking status (smoker or nonsmoker) and readiness to adopt or quit tobacco use. Thus, we ended up with 8 educational tracks based on the stages of smoking initiation or cessation. Those teens who were nonsmokers and not at risk for smoking initiation were taught basic advocacy skills i.e., how to assist smokers in their social environment in quitting. Another important consideration during the development of the program was using multimedia features to the maximum, so those teens who have reading issues could still benefit from it. The curriculum had videogame elements; however, its main task was to motivate and train skills. In that regard, ASPIRE is a well balanced program combining educational modules with fun pieces. After testing the curriculum in 16 Houston-area inner city schools (N=1600), we found that those teens with the highest risk for becoming smokers (i.e., had friends and parents who smoke, were depressed, and had low self-efficacy and resistance skills) benefited from using ASPIRE most - smoking initiation among them was very low as compared to the same-profile teens in the standard care (self-help manual) condition. Finally, the on-line program was designed to serve as a resource for those teens who are at risk for smoking initiation or smokers who seek assistance in quitting. We simplified the access to the program by eliminating the registration which could be a turn-off to many teens. Therefore, we cannot report on whether the majority of users accessed ASPIRE on-line multiple times or just once. We have a built-in tool that permits timing the visits and collects brief information regariding the smoking status and basic demographic characteristics of the user. Our recommendation is to access the program as many times as needed depending on the smoking status, level of knowledge of tobacco hazards, readiness to change smoking behavior, level of nicotine dependence, and self-efficacy. Three 30 min visits appears to be the minimum dose which can produce favorable results. We did not build any inducements to bring the users back repeatedly; however, our focus groups indicate that teens generally like the program. They both use it themselves repeatedly as well as recommend it to their peers.
The name is : Unversidad de Santigo de Chile
University of Santiago de Chile
were i can get an access to video games and ohtr interactive material
I am working in a proyect in schols to get students dont smoke , or smoke less.
I am traying to improve quality of education and i hope i can obtain the CD Rom
Thanks
Leonardo Vejar
Hospital Sotero del Rio
Chile
Thanks for your entry. It prompts some questions.
Can you tell us more about the off-line ASPIRE program -- both how it was designed and what effects it had? (I wonder, for example, whether it had the same balance between game play and testimonies from kids and what results its balance produced.)
I wonder: do you find that your program prompts players to repeat play, or that they tend to go through the whole program once? Have you determined that, for maximum impact, our program must be used multiple numbers of times? If so: have built inducements that bring them back repeatedly?
I look forward to hearing your responses.
Best,
Diane
Changemakers
Dear Diane,
Thanks for your questions regarding ASPIRE. The "off-line" ASPIRE curriculum was designed using the Transtheoretical Model, Social Cognitive Theory, and Addiction Framework as its theoretical underpinnings. To avoid the well-known problem with smokers' recruitment, we decided to make the curriculum relevant to the entire classroom - both smokers and nonsmokers. The brief survey channels the user to the relevant education path depending on the smoking status (smoker or nonsmoker) and readiness to adopt or quit tobacco use. Thus, we ended up with 8 educational tracks based on the stages of smoking initiation or cessation. Those teens who were nonsmokers and not at risk for smoking initiation were taught basic advocacy skills i.e., how to assist smokers in their social environment in quitting. Another important consideration during the development of the program was using multimedia features to the maximum, so those teens who have reading issues could still benefit from it. The curriculum had videogame elements; however, its main task was to motivate and train skills. In that regard, ASPIRE is a well balanced program combining educational modules with fun pieces. After testing the curriculum in 16 Houston-area inner city schools (N=1600), we found that those teens with the highest risk for becoming smokers (i.e., had friends and parents who smoke, were depressed, and had low self-efficacy and resistance skills) benefited from using ASPIRE most - smoking initiation among them was very low as compared to the same-profile teens in the standard care (self-help manual) condition. Finally, the on-line program was designed to serve as a resource for those teens who are at risk for smoking initiation or smokers who seek assistance in quitting. We simplified the access to the program by eliminating the registration which could be a turn-off to many teens. Therefore, we cannot report on whether the majority of users accessed ASPIRE on-line multiple times or just once. We have a built-in tool that permits timing the visits and collects brief information regariding the smoking status and basic demographic characteristics of the user. Our recommendation is to access the program as many times as needed depending on the smoking status, level of knowledge of tobacco hazards, readiness to change smoking behavior, level of nicotine dependence, and self-efficacy. Three 30 min visits appears to be the minimum dose which can produce favorable results. We did not build any inducements to bring the users back repeatedly; however, our focus groups indicate that teens generally like the program. They both use it themselves repeatedly as well as recommend it to their peers.