Health Professionals

Implementing a LTPB Program on your Campus

That Leave The Pack Behind can be replicated is evident in its expansion from 6 to 51 geographically-diverse universities and colleges including large urban campuses, small town universities, commuter schools, residential schools, high profile institutions and smaller colleges.

Essentials of Replication

Buy-in from health clinic staff is essential to successful replication of LTPB given that a staff member must oversee the student team, collaborate with colleagues in the same role on other campuses, and liaise with the central team.

A preparatory campus assessment is also critical in order to review each institution’s resources, and ensure that all aspects of comprehensive tobacco control can be satisfactorily administered. Such an assessment should appraise levels of support from health services, administration and student governments, and whether the basic physical needs of the initiative (e.g., office space, computer and telephone access, storage, etc.) can be met.

Of course, establishing a student team that reflects the composition of the larger student body is vital because it optimizes the approachability of the team and ensures that skills exist within the team to handle the diversity of tasks associated with comprehensive programming. The history of LTPB shows that student-teams have made LTPB their own year after year. Because they feel ownership, they accept the goals of LTPB and enthusiastically contribute to the development of LTPB programs and services to the benefit of their peers. By frequently adjusting to new trends among the incoming student population, LTPB remains responsive to the needs of this target population and continues to be a successful tobacco control initiative.

LTPB’s evidence-based approach to tobacco control calls for a certain degree of uniformity in program and service delivery. The central management team (i.e., the co-Directors, Co-ordinators, and support staff at Brock University) maintains the balance between uniform tobacco control programming across campuses, and campus-specific modifications to programming that enhance its appeal and effectiveness. Consistency in programming across diverse campuses is achieved through regular communication between institutions and the central management team. Likewise, stability in programming is achieved by having the central team provide all student-team training (using train-the-trainer meetings, on-site visits, bi-weekly teleconferences, and listservs). Finally, while program materials are developed by student peer teams, mass-production and re-distribution of materials by the central team ensures a unified look, avoids duplication and maintains quality standards.

History of Replication

LTPB began in 2000, in response to a call for proposals from Ontario’s Ministry of Health. It was created by Sharon Lawler, RN, MEd, Kelli-an Lawrance, PhD, Melodie Shick-Porter, RN, BA (CommNurs) and John Cairney, PhD, representing the Community Health Sciences Department at Brock University, the Niagara Regional Public Health Department, and Student Health Services at Brock University. They proposed a tobacco control initiative that involved students, researchers, health professionals, and administrators from 6 post-secondary institutions and 5 health units across southern and central Ontario.

Since 2000, two medical consultants – Dr. Peter Selby and Dr. Valerie Jaeger – have made invaluable contributions to LTPB through their work on the Clinical Tobacco Intervention training for campus health and medical professionals.

In 2004, Linda Jessup, PhD (Health Studies and Gerontology Department, University of Waterloo) joined LTPB’s team of co-Directors.