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A 'lingering curiosity'
In findings to be published this spring in Preventive Medicine, Sorensen and her colleagues stressed the importance of developing and enforcing policies, programs, and prevention efforts in this region.
To that end, Sorensen is teaming up with Dana-Farber's Vish Viswanath, PhD, a native of India, to promote tobacco-control policies and cessation support for teachers in Bihar — one of the country's poorest regions. An expert in communication science, Viswanath will help develop messages for use in Bihar schools. "Teachers are highly respected there," he says. "We will try to raise awareness among them, and hopefully it will have a cascading effect in other parts of society."
Glorian Sorenson was struck by the warmth and generosity of the people she met while on sabbatical in India. Here, she poses with a child in Jodhpur.
The effort ties in nicely with the overall aim of DFCI's Center for Community-Based Research, which works with community groups and organizations — including trade unions, small business leaders, low-income housing residents, and day camps — in the United States to develop innovative ways to lower cancer risk. Sorensen, a sociologist with training in public health, has long been interested in worksite- and community-based efforts aimed at low-income and multiethnic populations. She's convinced such interventions are most effective when they're embedded in the social context in which people live and work. She believes her research in India has relevance for the U.S. as well.
"What can we learn from the India experience?" she asks. "For one, there is growing concern here about oral (smokeless) tobacco use, and thinking beyond one form of tobacco is crucial. Also, looking at how we might deal with tobacco use in work settings where prevalence is so high has clear implications for some occupations here.
"India is a very large and diverse country, and it's full of surprises," Sorensen adds. "I feel so enriched that I was able to have five months there. It was long enough to go beneath the surface, develop some ongoing relationships, and discover the depth of Indian culture and generosity. It gave me a lingering curiosity and interest in trying to explore more." With a Das Travel Grant from Harvard, she plans to return this spring.
When asked about other countries' responsibility to promote smoking prevention, Sorensen says: "India has a fairly sizable tobacco industry of its own, but certainly large, international companies are importing there as well. It would be wonderful if we could do more importing of tobacco control."
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