Assessing and Responding to a Community Health Risk: Second-Hand Smoking in Puerto Rican Households

Abstract

Casual observation in the "Park Street Area," the commercial and residential heart of the large Puerto Rican community of Hartford, CT, suggests that smoking in the presence of children is a common event. Driving in cars with their families or ambling past storefronts with strollers or small hands in tow, parents regularly can be seen fumando un cigarillo (smoking a cigarette). Additionally, Hispanic Health Council researchers conducting home interviews with Puerto Rican parents over several years on various health topics (e.g., diet, pre-natal care, teen pregnancy) frequently have reported seeing parents smoking in front of their children. This recognition, and the growing awareness of the health risks of tobacco smoke exposure, led to the development of a pilot research study on the extent, spatial organization, and emic understanding of second-hand smoking among Puerto Rican families in Hartford. With a Latino population of approximately 50,000 people (the majority of whom self-identify as Puerto Rican), comprising about 40% of the city's population and the majority of students in the local school system, Hartford was a prime site for such research. The study was submitted to and funded by the seed grant program of the Center for Health, Intervention and Prevention at the University of Connecticut. The purpose of this funding mechanism is to provide initial support to investigators to stimulate new research in health behavior change.