CHARACTERISTICS AND PARTICIPANT PERCEPTIONS OF TOBACCO CONTROL COALITIONS IN CALIFORNIA

The 61 local health departments in California have been mandated to fo rm tobacco control coalitions as part of Proposition 99, the 1988 Toba cco Tax Initiative. A self-administered survey of 361 coalition member s and staff was conducted approximately 1.5 years after coalitions wer e formed to identify key characteristics, functions, problems and succ esses of the coalitions. This report summarizes some of the views of m ember and staff respondents to the survey. Significant differences exi st between member and staff views of coalition roles and responsibilit ies and judgments of each others' expertise. While both members and st aff place value on well-functioning tobacco control coalitions, the di fferences revealed between member and staff predictors of coalition fu nctioning and outcome appear to be mediated by varying perceptions of the role of the coalition. These and other related findings support se veral key assumptions underlying coalition development, and have impli cations for both practice and research.