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Evaluation Overview

HYSQ is now in Phase II. The primary goals of this phase are to:

• Evaluate a sample of “real world” youth cessation programs, and 
• Identify characteristics of programs that show promise for improving smoking cessation outcomes among enrolled youth.

The Phase II program evaluations comprise a longitudinal evaluation of high school-aged youth who are participating in smoking cessation programs across the United States. To maintain the real-world context of participating programs, protocols are designed to minimize any disruption to the usual delivery of the programs. There are no required changes to the program content, timing, location, or personnel delivering it. All protocols were approved by the University of Illinois at Chicago Institutional Review Board.

Youth participants are surveyed at four points in time: 

1. Baseline: during pre-program session inserted prior to the first planned treatment session
2. End-of-Program: just after the completion of the last planned treatment session
3. 6-month follow-up: 6 months after the baseline survey administration
4. 12-month follow-up: 12 months after the baseline survey administration.

In each follow-up survey (at program end, 6 months, and 12 months), youth participants provide a breath sample for carbon monoxide (CO) analysis to verify self-reported cessation of smoking.

Program leaders keep attendance records for participating youth and are interviewed once after the completion of the last treatment session.

Organizational leaders are interviewed once. In circumstances where a program is offered in the setting of one organization and funded by another, a leader from each organization is interviewed.

Community-level information is collected in two ways:

1. Archival research to obtain the local ordinances relevant to tobacco 
2. Telephone interviews of community leaders representing the local health department, school board, and juvenile justice office.