This study aims to assess the feasibility of using an intervention for environmental smoke exposure in children that uses cotinine testing results with written materials and telephone counseling for a potential future study of parents whose children are admitted with respiratory illnesses to The Barbara Bush Children's Hospital in Portland, Maine.
Children who are regularly exposed to environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) are at a greater risk for developing respiratory disease. Given the strong relationship between parental smoking and child health, many studies have evaluated the efficacy of interventions to modify parental smoking behavior and thereby reduce children's exposure to second- and thirdhand tobacco smoke, including the use of cotinine levels in children. There are several local ETS exposure intervention programs for The Barbara Bush Children's Hospital patient population and their families. The state of Maine and MaineHealth fund a free 24-hour tobacco cessation hotline (The Maine Tobacco Helpline) which combines evidence-based behavioral counseling techniques and free nicotine replacement therapy (gum, lozenge, or patch). MaineHealth also runs a tobacco cessation campaign (The Breathe Easy Coalition) that provides print materials and trainings aimed to reduce smoking in public housing, hospitals, behavioral health facilities, and higher education. The Breathe Easy Coalition's Smoke-Free Housing program provides education about the effects of secondhand and thirdhand tobacco smoke and asks families to pledge to keep tobacco smoke out of their home. This study aims to combine all three of these strategies (child cotinine feedback, tobacco cessation counseling, and written materials on ETS) to create a cohesive ETS exposure reduction program for the Barbara Bush Children's Hospital inpatient population, and determine the feasibility of a future study that would evaluate whether cotinine testing is helpful for changing smoking behaviors in this target population.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
NA
Purpose
PREVENTION
Masking
NONE
Enrollment
3
written materials about secondhand and thirdhand environmental smoke exposure in children
referral to tobacco cessation counselor, helpline calls adult referred to provide counseling over the phone.
the child's urine is tested for cotinine, which is produced when the body absorbs nicotine. These results are communicated to the child's parent/guardian.
The Barbara Bush Children's Hospital at Maine Medical Center
Portland, Maine, United States
Rate of acceptance of a smoking cessation intervention
Rate of acceptance of participation in each of the three smoking cessation interventions in this patient population at BBCH--written materials, phone counseling, and urine cotinine testing.
Time frame: one month for each patient
Rate of positive urine cotinine in children admitted with positive tobacco smoke exposure history.
We will assess the number of children who have a positive smoke exposure history and whose urine is positive for cotinine.
Time frame: 24 hours for each patient
Staff hours required to provide a smoking cessation intervention
The staff hours required to provide timely consent and sample collection, and the staff hours required to collect data and provide test results
Time frame: one month for each patient
Rate of acceptance of follow-up urine cotinine testing
Rate of parental acceptance of possible follow-up cotinine testing were it provided in a future study.
Time frame: one month for each patient
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