Back to Annual Meeting Page		American Public Health Association 133rd Annual Meeting & Exposition December 10-14, 2005 Philadelphia, PA

Abstract #110061

James Kyung Jo, DrPH, Community Health Agency, Riverside County Department of Public Health, 4065 County Circle Dr., Riverside, CA 92503, 951 358-4977, kyungraejo@aol.com and Consuela T. Edmond, PHPC II, Riverside Department of Public Health, Community Health Agency, 4065 County Circle Dr., Riverside, CA 92503.

Tobacco Free Families (TFF) is a unique program based on the home visitation model which offers smoking cessation counseling and secondhand smoke information for parents and family members with children under 6 years old and resides in Riverside County.

TFF partners with various entities/programs including seven hospitals, public health programs, WIC clinics, and agencies/organizations. A one page secondhand smoke survey is administered by our partnering agencies to generate eligible clients interested in our services. Any eligible clients interested in quitting smoking are contacted and offered counseling. These sessions are one-on-one individual counseling sessions conducted by certified tobacco counselors. A total of four sessions approximately an hour each are conducted covering topics on stress management, behavioral modification techniques, exercise, and weight management as they relate to smoking cessation. A unique feature of the program is that these sessions are done in the convenience of our client's home even during weekends and weekday evening hours. For clients interested in learning about the dangers of secondhand smoke, a packet containing secondhand smoke information is sent out via mail.

An evaluation for all who enroll in the TFF stop smoking counseling sessions is in place to assess the six month quit rate. Our initial evaluation indicates a 15% quit rate post intervention. All who enroll in the stop smoking program indicated no smoking is allowed inside the house. The results show the efficacy of the program in helping parents to quit smoking and reduce/eliminate secondhand smoke exposure for their children.

Learning Objectives:

• 1.Identify unique services offered by the TFF program.
• 2.Discuss key components of the TFF stop smoking counseling sessions.
• 3.Recognize the importance of educating parents about the dangers of secondhand smoke.

Keywords: Smoking Cessation,

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

I wish to disclose that I have NO financial interests or other relationship with the manufactures of commercial products, suppliers of commercial services or commercial supporters.