Research

Tobacco Control Research in the Division of Preventive and Behavioral Medicine University of Massachusetts Medical School

Current Tobacco Control Projects

  • Policy to Support Tobacco Treatment in Health Care (MassTTPS) (NIH/NCI: 2000-2004). Judith Ockene, Lori Pbert, Donna Warner, Jane Zapka; Project Director: Denise Jolicoeur
  • Provider and Peer Delivered Youth Smoking Intervention (NIH/NCI: 1999-2003). Lori Pbert, Alan Flint; Project Director: Sue Druker
  • Developing and Testing New HEDIS Smoking Measures (RWJ: 1999-2001). Lori Pbert, Nancy Vuckovic, Judith Ockene, Jack Hollis
  • Tobacco Treatment Training and Certification Project (MDPH: 1997-Present). Lori Pbert, Judith Ockene; Project Director: Beth Ewy
  • Smoking Intervention for Low-Income Pregnant Women (QT) (NIH/NHLBI: 1996-2001). Judith Ockene, Lori Pbert, Jane Zapka

Description of Projects

Policy to Support Tobacco Treatment in Health Care

Goal:
To provide guidelines and recommendations to help inform and assist other states in their efforts to develop and implement public and organizational policies to deliver high quality, well implemented and accessible tobacco treatment services at the clinic level.

Provider and Peer Delivered Youth Smoking Intervention

Goal:

To reduce the prevalence of smoking among adolescents seen for routine medical care by developing, implementing and evaluating the efficacy of a provider-delivered smoking prevention and cessation intervention and peer counseling within a pediatric clinic setting.

Aims:

  1. Adapt a provider-delivered office intervention for use in pediatric clinics targeting prevention and cessation in adolescents seen for routine care.
  2. Develop a peer counseling (PC) protocol for prevention and cessation interventions to be delivered within pediatric clinics.
  3. Evaluate in a randomized controlled trial the efficacy of the combined pediatric clinic-based intervention (SI) compared to Usual Care (UC) in reducing prevalence of smoking.

Developing and Testing New Smoking Measures for the Health Plan Employer and Information Set (HEDIS)

Aims:

  1. Develop and test the face validity of potential assessment measures regarding smoking intervention.
  2. Conduct test-retest reliability assessment of survey items.
  3. Provide the National Committee on Quality Assurance (NCQA) with recommendations for additional HEDIS measures.

Tobacco Treatment Specialist Training and Certification

Goal:

To improve the quality and consistency of tobacco treatment services offered in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts through evidence-based training and a professional certification program.

Quit Together: Smoking Interventions for Low-Income Pregnant Women

Aims:

  1. Increase non-smoking (spontaneous quitters) and cessation rates during pregnancy
  2. Reduce relapse rates postpartum
  3. Increase movement through stages of change