Training leaders from priority populations to implement social norm changes in tobacco control: lessons from the...

The development of leadership in tobacco control has been crucial in the fight against the number one most preventable cause of death and disease worldwide. Yet today, little scientific evidence exists regarding its actual impact, particularly among priority populations. This article describes the impact of the Leadership and Advocacy Institute to Advance Minnesota's Parity for Priority Populations (LAAMPP Institute), a major tobacco control leadership program for five priority populations: African/African Americans, American Indians, Asian Americans, Chicano/Latinos, and lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender communities in Minnesota. The LAAMPP Institute, a year-long institute with 17 days of training, focused on the core competencies of advocacy, collaboration, cultural or community competency, facilitation, and tobacco control. A logic model helped to guide and frame the institute's efforts. The LAAMPP Institute has been effective in increasing fellows' capacity to do advocacy, which in turn has led to increased involvement in implementing social norm-change activities. Leadership development can provide a solid foundation for training leaders and a catalyst for mobilizing key advocates and priority population communities toward the implementation and sustainment of social norm or policy changes.