EVALUATION OF A HOME-BASED INTERVENTION PROGRAM TO REDUCE INFANT PASSIVE SMOKING AND LOWER RESPIRATORY ILLNESS

We conducted a randomized controlled trial to determine whether a home -based intervention program could reduce infant passive smoking and lo wer respiratory illness. The intervention consisted of four nurse home visits during the first 6 months of life, designed to assist families to reduce the infant's exposure to tobacco smoke. Among the 121 infan ts of smoking mothers who completed the study, there was a significant difference in trend over the year between the intervention and the co ntrol groups in the amount of exposure to tobacco smoke; infants in th e intervention group were exposed to 5.9 fewer cigarettes per day at 1 2 months. There was no group difference in infant urine cotinine excre tion. The prevalence of persistent lower respiratory symptoms was lowe r among intervention-group infants of smoking mothers whose head of ho usehold had no education beyond high school: intervention group, 14.6% ; and controls, 34.0%.