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Tobacco use often starts in adolescent years when school personnel form important role models, potentially influencing tobacco use. To plan effective interventions, it is essential to have information on the extent and the type of tobacco use among school personnel, their attitudes towards tobacco control, and the existence of school health polices about tobacco.1
Tobacco use among 13–15 year old students is being studied worldwide through the Global Youth Tobacco Survey (GYTS)2 which incorporates the Global School Personnel Survey (GSPS). The objectives of GSPS are: (1) obtain baseline information on tobacco use; (2) evaluate the existence, implementation, and enforcement of tobacco control policies in schools; (3) understand the knowledge and attitudes towards tobacco control policies; (4) assess training and material requirements for implementing tobacco prevention and control interventions; and (5) verify some information obtained from the GYTS. The GSPS was piloted in the state of Bihar, India and this report presents the results from the first pilot of GSPS.
GSPS is a cross sectional survey that employs a cluster sample design to produce a representative sample of school personnel drawn from the same schools that were selected for GYTS. For GYTS, schools were sampled with probability of selection proportional to the …