Tobacco Control Capacity Index for Communities of Color in the United States

Eliminating Tobacco-Related Disparities Among Pacific Islanders Through Leadership and Capacity Building

“…Capacity building and leadership development are essential in achieving tobacco control policy change and health equity within Pacific Islander communities. Before communities can comprehensively address tobacco, they need to develop community readiness and capacity on tobacco control (Robinson et al, 1995). A systematic review of community capacity to address tobacco among the four major ethnic groups in the United States in the mid-1990s found that Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders had a low to very low capacity to conduct research, develop an infrastructure, create and manage programs, and develop policy initiatives on tobacco control (Robinson et al, 1995).…”

Building capacity to address tobacco‐related disparities among American Indian and Hispanic/Latino communities: conceptual and systemic considerations

“…A framework for capacity building to eliminate tobacco disparities in Hispanic/Latino communities has evolved through the years from the work of multiple individuals involved in tobacco control around the United States, including Robinson's work [15], preliminary work conducted by the Parity Task force [7], Asian Pacific Partners for Empowerment and Leadership (APPEAL) [3], Torre's work [21] and the conceptual framework of the Leadership Institute to Advance Minnesota Parity for Priority Populations (LAAMPP) [22], in addition to the partnership's developmental experience [8]. This framework has helped to guide capacity building and other activities of the Partnership for 15 years.…”

“…Robinson et al . [15] developed an index to measure the capacity of ethnic communities to engage in, develop and implement tobacco prevention and control activities. The capacity index comprised four broad components, each with numerous elements.…”

“…The researchers applied the index to racial/ethnic communities on a national level, and found prevalent systemic issues. For example, American Indian communities, in particular, have fewer resources and infrastructure to develop and implement tobacco prevention and control initiatives [15]. Due to limited English proficiency in a significant proportion, emerging health priorities of immigrants and limited economic resources, Hispanic/Latinos also tend to lave lower institutional capacity and core funding to address tobacco control issues throughout the United States [16].…”

”I just love seeing all those solar panels“

“…In 1994, a capacity index was developed to assess the AAPI's "capacity" to respond to tobacco 8. Lew, Chen, and others identified that AAPI communities in the United States had a low to very low capacity to respond to tobacco issues with regard to research, infrastructure, and program and policy development.…”