Preventive medicine
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Preventive medicine · Jul 1996
Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study Clinical TrialTobacco use measurement, prediction, and intervention in elementary schools in four states: the CATCH Study.
The Child and Adolescent Trial for Cardiovascular Health (CATCH) is a multistate field trial examining the effects of school environment, classroom curricula, and family intervention components in promoting the cardiovascular health of elementary school students. The purpose of this paper is to describe the CATCH tobacco use intervention and measurement, including the adoption of tobacco-free school policies. ⋯ Future studies should examine the impact of parallel policy interventions that are ongoing at both school and state levels. Tobacco-free policies appear to be a crucial part of school-based interventions and must be tailored to political and regional factors affecting a given school district.