Stakeholder Engagement

Background—Oklahoma law pre-empts local governments from enacting smoking restrictions inside public places that are stricter than state law, but the sovereign status of Oklahoma’s 38 Tribal nations means they are uniquely positioned to stand apart as leaders in the area of tobacco policy. Purpose—To provide recommendations for employing university–Tribal partnerships as an effective strategy for tobacco policy planning in tribal communities. Methods—Using a community-based participatory research approach, researchers facilitated a series of meetings with key Tribal stakeholders in order to develop a comprehensive tobacco policy plan. Ongoing engagement activities held between January 2011 and May 2012, including interdepartmental visits, facility site tours, interviews, and attendance at tribal activities, were critical for fostering constructive and trusting relationships between all partners involved in the policy planning process. Results—The 17-month collaborative engagement produced a plan designed to regulate the use of commercial tobacco in all Tribally owned properties. The extended period of collaboration between the researchers and Tribal stakeholders facilitated: (1) levels of trust between partners; and (2) a steadfast commitment to the planning process, ensuring completion of the plan amid uncertain political climates and economic concerns about tobacco bans. Conclusions—Extended engagement produced an effective foundation for policy planning that promoted collaboration between otherwise dispersed Tribal departments, and facilitated communication of diverse stakeholder interests related to the goal of tobacco policies. The findings of this study provide useful strategies and best practices for those looking to employ Tribal–university partnerships as strategies for tobacco control planning and policy-based research. © 2015 American Journal of Preventive Medicine This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/). Address correspondence to: Jessica W. Blanchard, PhD, 455 W. Lindsey St., 805, Norman OK 73019. [email protected].. Publication of this article was supported by the Oklahoma Tobacco Research Center (OTRC), with funding from the Oklahoma Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust (TSET). No financial disclosures were reported by the authors of this paper. HHS Public Access Author manuscript Am J Prev Med. Author manuscript; available in PMC 2015 June 22. Published in final edited form as: Am J Prev Med. 2015 January ; 48(1 0 1): S44–S46. doi:10.1016/j.amepre.2014.09.025. A uhor M anscript