Science Education in Health Ed Class: Tobacco and Addiction

描述（由申请人提供）：与其他发达国家相比，美国青少年人口的科学素养排名较低，并且正在下降（国家教育统计中心）。这一缺陷的一个后果是，学生没有工具就有关其健康的问题作出知情的决定。学生可能缺乏科学工具来做出健康选择的一个领域是烟草制品的使用。特别是，烟草业可能能够利用我们学生缺乏科学素养的优势，特别是他们对所谓的“更安全”烟草产品的创造性营销（即，轻/超轻香烟、减少暴露的产品、“天然”香烟和无烟烟草）。研究表明，不吸烟的青少年可能会因为这些产品的“安全”含义而被引诱使用这些产品，或者他们可能会推迟戒烟，认为以后会有更安全的替代品。目前，向学生教授烟草、吸烟和成瘾的主要论坛是高中健康教育课程。然而，健康教育课程通常不提供对这些重要主题的科学理解。此外，这些课程的教师通常是体育教师，他们没有教授烟草和尼古丁成瘾科学的背景。因此，我们建议大学科学家和高中教师之间的伙伴关系，以帮助教师把科学纳入他们的健康教育课程。该项目的总体目标是：1）提高青少年对烟草使用和尼古丁成瘾问题的科学素养; 2）为学生提供抵制替代烟草产品创造性营销的工具; 3）帮助学生做出适当的决定，（不）吸烟或使用其他烟草产品，这些烟草产品暗示比普通香烟“更安全”。为实现这些目标，我们有5个具体目标：1）为高中健康教育课程开发一个以烟草产品和尼古丁成瘾为基础的科学教育模块; 2）为健康教育教师提供专业发展，帮助他们成为科学教育模块的学习促进者; 3）使用随机对照设计对高中健康课程中的科学教育模块进行现场测试; 4）对科学教育模块对若干成果的影响进行多模式评估，包括关于成瘾和癌症的科学内容知识、学生对成瘾和癌症的风险认知、抵制更安全烟草产品营销的能力、对吸烟/使用烟草产品的敏感性以及自我报告的使用情况; 5）在全国范围内推广该方案。我们建议，我们的方法可以作为一种模式，使用科学教育，以防止青少年不断的信息有关法律的和非法物质，导致疾病，包括成瘾。这对于高中健康教育课程尤其适用。公共卫生相关性：该项目将科学教育纳入高中的健康教育课程。我们建议，我们的方法可以作为一种模式，使用科学教育，以防止青少年不断的信息有关法律的和非法物质，导致疾病，包括成瘾。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Science literacy in the US adolescent population ranks low compared to other developed nations and is declining (National Center for Education Statistics). A consequence of this deficiency has been that students do not have the tools to make informed decisions about issues concerning their health. One area in which students may lack the scientific tools to make healthy choices is in the use of tobacco products. In particular, the tobacco industry may be able to take advantage of our students' lack of scientific literacy, especially with their creative marketing of so-called "safer" tobacco products (i.e., light/ultralight cigarettes, reduced-exposure products, "natural" cigarettes, and smokeless tobacco). Research suggests that adolescents who don't smoke may be lured into using these products because of the "safer" implication, or they may delay quitting smoking thinking a safer alternative will be available later on. Currently, the main forum for teaching students about tobacco, smoking, and addiction is the high school health education course. Yet, health education courses do not typically provide a level of scientific understanding of these important topics. Moreover, teachers of these courses are usually physical education teachers, who do not have the background to teach the science about tobacco and nicotine addiction. Thus, we propose a partnership between university scientists and high school teachers to help teachers bring science into their health education course. Our overall goals of the project are to 1) increase science literacy of adolescents on the topic of tobacco use and nicotine addiction, 2) provide students with tools to resist the creative marketing of alternative tobacco products, and 3) help students make appropriate decisions about (not) smoking or using other tobacco products that carry implied claims of being "safer" than regular cigarettes. To achieve these goals, we have 5 specific aims: 1) Develop a science education- based module on tobacco products and nicotine addiction for the high school health education course; 2) Provide professional development to health education teachers to help them serve as learning facilitators of the science education module; 3) Field-test the science education module in high school health courses using a randomized, controlled design; 4) Perform a multi-modal evaluation of the effect of the science education module on several outcomes including, science content knowledge about addiction and cancer, students' risk perception of addiction and cancer, ability to resist marketing of safer tobacco products, susceptibility to smoke/use tobacco products, and self-reported use; 5) Disseminate the program nationally. We propose that our approach may serve as a model for using science education to inoculate teens against the constant barrage of information about legal and illegal substances that cause disease, including addiction. This is especially appropriate for the high school health education course. Public Health Relevance: This project brings science education to the Health Education class in high schools. We propose that our approach may serve as a model for using science education to inoculate teens against the constant barrage of information about legal and illegal substances that cause disease, including addiction.