Implementation of an evidence-based tobacco control intervention for school teachers in India: Evaluating the effects of a capacity-building strategy

BACKGROUND: Tobacco-Free Teachers, Tobacco-Free Society (TFT-TFS) is an evidence-based intervention that promotes tobacco use cessation among teachers and tobacco control policies among schools in India. This study tested an implementation model to build Bihar Department of Education (DOE) capacity to support and deliver TFT-TFS within schools, leveraging DOE training infrastructure. METHOD: We used a training-of-trainers (TOT) “cascade” implementation strategy to embed the TFT-TFS program into the Bihar DOE infrastructure. We trained 46 Cluster Coordinators to train and support Headmasters to implement TFT-TFS in their schools over one academic year. We selected three school districts, representing approximately 46 clusters and 219 schools. We used the RE-AIM framework to assess program adoption (Headmaster participation in at least one of six TFT-TFS trainings), implementation (of four core program components), and reach (teachers' participation in three or more group discussions). Using a non-inferiority design, we hypothesized that program adoption, implementation, and reach would not be inferior to the high standards demonstrated when TFT-TFS was originally tested in the Bihar School Teachers Study. We used self-reported checklists to measure outcomes and SPSS Version 25 to analyze data. RESULTS: For adoption, 94% of Headmasters attended the first training, although participation declined by the sixth training. Among the 112 schools out of 219 with complete Headmaster checklist data, all met our minimum criteria for implementing TFT-TFS. Over 99% of schools posted a school tobacco control policy and distributed quit booklets. However, only 69% of schools met our criteria for program reach. CONCLUSIONS: This study outlines the processes for taking a tobacco control intervention to scale and implementing it through the Bihar DOE infrastructure. These findings provide a foundation for other Indian states and low- and middle-income countries to implement tobacco control and other health programs for schoolteachers. TRIAL REGISTRATION: NCT05346991. PLAIN LANGUAGE SUMMARY: Each year in India, more than 1.2 million people die from tobacco-related causes, and India has the world's highest oral cancer burden. The world needs more evidence on how to bring cost-effective tobacco control interventions to scale, especially in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). To address this gap, from 2017 to 2021, we examined the process of scaling up Tobacco-Free Teachers, Tobacco-Free Society (TFT-TFS), an evidence-based intervention promoting tobacco use cessation among teachers and tobacco control policies in schools. Our study tested an implementation model aimed at building the Bihar State Department of Education (DOE) capacity to support and deliver TFT-TFS. We used a training-of-trainers model to embed TFT-TFS into Bihar DOE infrastructure, training 46 Cluster Coordinators to in turn train and support Headmasters to implement TFT-TFS over one academic year. We hypothesized that program adoption, implementation, and reach would not be inferior to the high standards demonstrated when we originally tested TFT-TFS through the Bihar School Teachers Study (2013–2017). For adoption, 94% of Headmasters attended the first training, although participation declined by the sixth training. Of 112 schools (out of 219 with complete Headmaster checklist data), all met our minimum criteria for implementing TFT-TFS. Over 99% of schools posted a school tobacco control policy and distributed quit booklets. However, only 69% of schools met our criteria for program reach. Study findings offer other Indian states and LMICs lessons to implement tobacco control and other health programs for schoolteachers within educational systems.