NCJ Number
215182
Journal
Drugs: Education, Prevention and Policy Volume: 13 Issue: 3 Dated: June 2006 Pages: 263-280
Date Published
June 2006
Length
18 pages
Annotation
This article reviews the use and efficacy of brief clinical interventions for adolescent smokers in the United States.
Abstract
Results of the research review indicate that while healthcare practitioners are screening adolescents for tobacco use, there are low rates of counseling referrals and follow-up care. Barriers to the provision of brief clinical interventions for adolescent smokers include a lack of knowledge regarding the delivery of this type of intervention, a lack of knowledge about the unique patterns of tobacco use among adolescents, and a narrow focus on prevention over treatment. The authors suggest that both training for healthcare practitioners and organizational changes including reimbursement for counseling and staff behavior monitoring may help increase the use of brief clinical interventions for adolescent smokers. The research review was based on studies collected from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Office of Smoking and Health, as well as from Medline, Psychinfo, PubMed, and the Cochrane Library. Researchers also elicited comments from experts in the field of tobacco control and they note that the focus was on United States research in order to control international healthcare differences and barriers to treatment services. Future research is needed on both the effectiveness of brief clinical interventions to curb the smoking behavior of adolescents and on other methods of treatment that may help adolescent smokers quit. References