Measuring compliance with tobacco-free campus policy

The purpose is to describe psychometric testing and feasibility of the Tobacco-Free Compliance Assessment Tool (TF-CAT) to measure tobacco-free policy compliance at a public university and medical center. The aims are to (1) investigate concurrent validity by comparing the number of cigarette butts in areas covered by the policy with those on adjacent sidewalks; (2) evaluate the interrater reliability of the TF-CAT; and (3) describe the feasibility of using the TF-CAT.

Phase I was a pilot study on the health care campus. Phase II was baseline of an intervention study on the main campus. Cigarette butts and smokers were counted in hot spots. Validity was assessed using Mann-Whitney U and Geographical Information System Analysis methods.

There was some support for the validity and high interrater reliability. Data collectors spent 1 hour per week for 8 weeks during Phase I, and 31 hours in 1 week during Phase II.

TF-CAT is a feasible, time-intensive method to measure tobacco-free policy compliance.