Health Across Borders: Tobacco-Free Youth World Cafe

Tobacco-Free Youth World Café

The Tennessee Institute of Public Health in partnership with the Niswonger Foundation and the Healthy Appalachia Institute hosted the Health Across Borders: Tobacco-Free Youth World Café on April 22 at the Train Station in Bristol, Virginia. This event was part of a County Health Rankings & Roadmaps project sponsored by the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

The keynote speaker was Jerry Spegman with the County Health Rankings Team, on the topic of "Tobacco Prevention through Policy Change". The World Café sessions were led by Dr. Bill Brooks from the College of Public Health at East Tennessee State University. The purpose of this joint Tennessee - Virginia project was to prioritize regional focus on moving forward with community-based  tobacco-free youth policies. Participants included northeast Tennessee and southwest Virginia multi-sector representatives from higher education, drug coalitions, public health, healthcare, elementary and secondary schools, non-profits, youth organizations, government and churches. A report on findings from the sessions is forthcoming. This project was part of a series made possible by the three-state TRIO partnership of sister institutes, including the Tennessee Institute of Public Health, Healthy Appalachia Institute in Virginia, and the South Carolina Institute of Medicine & Public Health. Leadership from all three institutes were in attendance at the event.