TRAINING PEDIATRIC RESIDENTS TO PREVENT TOBACCO USE

Objective. To assess the effectiveness and acceptability of incorporat ing the National Cancer Institute (NCI) Guide to Preventing Tobacco Us e During Childhood and Adolescence into pediatric training. Design. Pr eintervention and postintervention self-reported surveys for residents receiving training and postintervention baseline surveys for those re sidents not receiving training. Measures include: (1) a self-reported knowledge, attitude, and behavior survey of residents; and (2) physici an behavior reports from parent exit interviews. Setting. A hospital-b ased pediatric residency program and continuity clinic. Subjects. Pedi atric residents and parents of pediatric patients seen for well child examinations. Interventions. Structured NCI smoking cessation curricul um modified for delivery during scheduled teaching activities. Results . The NCI training was acceptable and perceived as important by reside nts. Many did not recall receiving the materials or training. Trained residents who remembered the intervention improved their smoking cessa tion counseling effectiveness. Most patients' parents think it appropr iate for physicians to ask; however, most reported not having been ask ed about smoking or environmental smoke exposure. Conclusions. For res idents to learn effective prevention counseling strategies, systematic , reinforced preventive educational curricula must become an instituti onalized part of residency training.