No Smoking Room: A Web-based Health Intervention for Adolescent Girls

The use of tobacco is a serious pediatric and family health issue. Young women are a special concern with respect to cigarette smoking. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, smoking is the leading known cause of preventable death and disease among women. The growing data base suggesting youth become dependent on nicotine, even before they become regular or daily smokers and are unlikely to quit on their own, prompts a need for youth-directed strategies in online environments. In response, the No Smoking Room is a web-based health intervention for adolescent girls (8-11 years old) conveying smoking prevention and cessation messages through interactive games (i.e., e-cards, printable door hangars), journaling, and high level reflective questions and quizzes. A national girl's advisory board provides leadership in designing site components with facilitators, and testing the site to ensure youth responsiveness and engagement. The site, based at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center/Dartmouth Medical School, can also be used as a “communication bridge” or source of referral information between the health professional and patient. For example, health professionals can provide a No Smoking Room door hanger with facts and information directing patients to the website. As part of this presentation, participants will receive a No Smoking Room door hanger.