Ongoing Studies

School Nurse-delivered Smoking Cessation Intervention

PI: Dr. Lori Pbert

Twenty-two percent of high school students report current smoking (past 30 days).  As the primary health professional in the school setting, school nurses have a tremendous opportunity to play a key role in treating adolescent smokers.  A randomized controlled trial (RCT) conducted by the investigators in 71 high schools in Massachusetts demonstrated the feasibility of school nurses delivering a four-session individual counseling intervention to adolescents who want to stop smoking and its potential efficacy in increasing self-reported short term (6-week and 3-month) quit rates.  The overall aim of the present study is to conduct a more rigorous RCT to evaluate the effectiveness of a school nurse-delivered smoking cessation intervention in increasing 30 day abstinence rates among high school students who smoke.  Forty high schools serving a diverse student population have been recruited and randomly assigned to one of two conditions: (1) Counseling Intervention (CI) – four 30-minute individual patient-centered smoking cessation counseling intervention sessions based on the Public Health Service (PHS) clinical practice guideline delivered by school nurses; or (2) Information Intervention (II) attention-control comparison condition – four individual sessions with the school nurse to check smoking status and deliver a standardized series of informational pamphlets on smoking and cessation.  Participant assessments occur at study entry (baseline) and at 6-week, 3-, 6-, and 12-month follow-up.  Thirty students enrolled in grades 9 through 12 who report smoking within the past 30 days and willingness to participate in a smoking cessation intervention study have been recruited from each school (n=1200) to provide 25 completed assessments per school at 12-month follow-up (n=1000).   If found effective, a study will be conducted to identify the most effective method for disseminating and implementing the intervention protocol to school nurses nationally.

(NIH R01 CA114556) – 2006-2010