Research into Youth Tobacco/Nicotine Use Prevention in Virginia

Lisa Brown
703.501.3042
lbrown@vfhy.org

The Virginia Foundation for Healthy Youth will provide funding to stimulate new research into the causes and prevention of youth tobacco use and nicotine dependence. Projects that focus on rural populations in Virginia are encouraged. It is anticipated that awardees may use grant funds to support pilot studies that will lead to larger grant applications to federal, state, and foundation sources.

Examples of potential research topics include:

• The knowledge, perceptions and/or impact of new and/or alternative tobacco/nicotine products including flavored products on youth in Virginia
• Methods to discourage experimentation/initiation of use of alternative tobacco/nicotine products
• The effect of the retail environment on youth initiation, prevalence and/or poly-use
• Tobacco control policy/regulation, including the effects of pricing, tobacco outlet registration/licensing, and law enforcement on youth tobacco use
• The effect of active use of social media and tobacco/nicotine related messages on the attitudes and behaviors about tobacco/nicotine use among youth
• Disparities among differing groups of youth based on social determinants of health
• Cultural factors that influence the age of initiation and prevalence of tobacco/nicotine use among youth
• Research on the types of interventions that work with various demographics of youth
• The impact of other tobacco/nicotine products on the trajectory of use, transition to cigarette/cigar/cannabis use and poly-use among youth
• Developing innovative interventions that target tobacco/nicotine users at the point of initiation and while at low levels of use to prevent ongoing use
• The factors that relate to the progression of experimentation with tobacco/nicotine products to addiction by youth
• Research into tobacco/nicotine use cessation specifically for youth
• Secondary data analysis of existing data sets such as the Virginia Youth Survey

Eligible applicants include universities, nonprofit/charitable organizations, government entities, and businesses in Virginia.

Award ceiling: $150,000
Project period: 1-3 years

Links to additional guidance, application instructions, and the online application portal are available on the program website.