Maggie Santiago, Jim Koger, MPH, and Natalie Tobier, MSW, MPH. Medical and Health Research Association of New York City, Inc., 40 Worth Street Suite 720, New York, NY 10013, 212-285-0220, msantiago@mhra.org

In September 2003, Medical and Health Research Association of New York City, Inc. (MHRA) implemented a tobacco screening and cessation counseling project entitled Smoke Free Community Connection (SFCC) in three of its existing service programs in the Bushwick community of Brooklyn. The SFCC intervention model was based on the “5 A’s,” which capitalizes on pregnancy as a window of opportunity for successful quitting. SFCC’s unique attribute is the network of support it establishes for the women that are served by more than one of the three participating programs, which include a prenatal care service provider, a WIC nutrition program, and a home-based parenting skills development program. The outcome objectives are to achieve a quit rate of 60% and a relapse rate within 6 months postpartum of less than 35%. In the project’s first two months of service, 142 women were screened, 18 identified as current smokers and 7 as having quit since finding out they were pregnant. Six of the 18 smokers indicated they were ready to make a quit attempt, and received cessation counseling per the 5 A’s model. Going forward, the project will continue to screen new clients and follow-up with smokers and recent quitters to encourage quit attempts and help maintain abstinence. The project evaluation, to be conducted between June and August 2004, will include data analysis and qualitative interviews with clients and staff members from the three programs.

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