Years ago, I met Bill Novelli when he was championing Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. I was interested in the merger of my interests in public health with medical education and health promotion and went to DC to chat with him.

Despite those real interests, it wasn’t until 20 years later:)) that my passions have synergized, resulting in a tween girl focused social media intervention called the No Smoking Room, developed with a Pfizer unrestricted educational grant our team won for Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center.

The three year project involved the following key components:

1. Development of a web-based intervention, focused on young girls - AS YOUNG AS 8 YEARS OLD!! We created an informal but critical partnership with Girls, Inc. giving us access to the target audience and plenty of rich discussion upon which to base the creative strategy. The girls were aged 8-11 years old, and from Bowling Green, Kentucky — a part of the country that RJ Reynolds has greatly influenced, economically to say the least. Moms, dads, cousins, grandparents…all have been employed by the tobacco manufacturer and raised their kids on the economy.

Patty Alford, the Executive Director, at Girls Inc set aside two hours one day for a discussion with her girls that resulted in all of the girls writing letters to their family members who smoked.

The letters were written in the most heartfelt way, indicating to me that if the girls had a voice and a choice..they would CHOOSE NOT TO SMOKE. We have the letters, and the drawings that the girls shared with the whole group and with Dartmouth. They are rich with meaning and, as consumer-generated content, formed the basis for their very own “girlz lounge” called the NO SMOKING ROOM .

2. A healthcare professional training module, Pediatrics in Practice (PIP). This program was developed with Kara Connors, lead consultant, and Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center led by Chief of Pediatrics, Dr. Hank Bernstein. The module’s goal is to educate maternal and child health care professionals about smoking, prevention, and cessation. The family physician, or pediatrician holds much influence for patients, but this power has not optimized to help people stop or prevent smoking to a great degree.

If you’re interested in finding out how we’re moving forward with this key public health and social media endeavor, please contact me at kelley@kc-health.com

(I’m happy to report we were selected to present this case study at the 2009 Health Academy meeting at the PRSA!)