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OBJECTIVE: The Institute for Public Health and Faith Collaborations sought to cultivate boundary leadership to strengthen collaboration across religious and health sectors to address health disparities. This article presents findings from an evaluation of the Institute and its impact on participating teams of faith and public health leaders. METHODS:. Self-administered surveys were completed by participating team members (n = 243) immediately post-Institute. Semistructured telephone interviews were conducted with at least one health and one faith leader per team six to eight months after the Institute. RESULTS: Significant self-reported improvement occurred for all short-term outcomes assessed, with the largest increases in describing organizational frames and why they are important for community change, and understanding the role of boundary leaders in community systems change. Six months after the Institute, participants spoke of inspiration, team building, and understanding their own leadership strengths as important outcomes. Leadership growth centered on functioning in groups, making a change in their work, a renewed faith in self, and a renewed focus on applying themselves to faith/health work. Top team accomplishments included planning or implementing a program or event, or solidifying or sustaining a collaborative structure. The majority felt they were moving in the right direction to reduce health disparities, but had not yet made an impact. CONCLUSIONS: Results suggest the Institute played a role in helping to align faith and health assets in many of the participating teams. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

OBJECTIVE: To identify factors associated with successful neighborhood mobilization to prevent teen pregnancy using a positive youth development approach. METHODS: A multiple case study was conducted on 5 neighborhood partnerships using in-person interviews with key informants, observation of meetings, and review of existing documents. RESULTS: Competent staff, strong sense of community, support of key organizations, shared leadership, effective group process, and a perceived need for the initiative influenced level of mobilization. CONCLUSION: Organizing neighborhoods around teen pregnancy prevention, even using a youth development approach, is challenging but can be accomplished when the right constellation of factors is in place. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Less than half of college students who have smoked in the past month identify themselves as smokers. Thus, we examined (a) how college students define the term "smoker" and (b) how this definition impacts smoking behavior and attitudes.Methods: We conducted 12 focus groups with a total of 73 college student smokers drawn from survey participants at two colleges in Minnesota (a two-year technical college and a four-year university). Each group was homogenous in terms of gender and school (two-year, four-year).Results: The majority (56.2%) were female, 49.3% attended a 2-year college, and 32.9% were regular smokers (smoked > or = 25 of the last 30 days). Participants described a "smoker" in terms of (a) smoking frequency, ranging from smoking infrequently to smoking daily; (b) contextual factors, such that smoking alone indicates being a smoker rather than smoking at parties; (c) time since initiation; (d) whether one purchases cigarettes, such that "smokers" buy cigarettes while nonsmokers borrow them; (e) addiction and being able to quit without great effort; (f) whether smoking is habitual; and (g) personality and physical characteristic. These beliefs had implications on experiences in quitting smoking, motivation to quit, and perceived barriers. Many participants indicated confidence in being able to quit but believed that they were not "smokers" and thus did not need to quit.Discussion: College students use a broad range of criteria to define who is a smoker. These criteria impact how motivated students are to quit smoking and their perception of needing to "quit smoking." [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]