New Investigator Grants

This study will compare parents of sick neonates with those of healthy newborns, and hopes to further identify whether the illness of a child (and other associated factors) contributes to parents' quitting success. Specifically, this study will identify factors associated with readiness to quit smoking among parents/caregivers of sick neonates. Success (quit rate) of the referral system will be tracked to the New York state quitline with the implementation of a computerized referral system offered to all smoking parents/caregivers of neonates and determine whether quit rates differ by child health status. Factors associated with quit rates among parents/caregivers of healthy vs. sick neonates will also be identified.

This study will expand on the original pilot study based on the educational video "Smoking and Kids Don't Mix" geared towards parents and other caretakers of children with environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) exposure, which was developed in partnership with the Children's of Alabama Comprehensive Health Education Center for Kids (CHECK). This seven minute video reviews the adverse health effects of ETS on children and provides strategies to reduce childhood ETS exposure, including smoking cessation. Further research is needed to confirm the pilot study's findings in a larger group, to ascertain if there is a long-term gain in knowledge of the adverse effects of ETS exposure in children, and determine if there is any subsequent behavior change associated with improved knowledge. This study has two phases: baseline and follow-up. The primary outcome will be improved knowledge of the adverse efffects of childhood ETS exposure at one and three months in comparison to pre-video knowledge. Secondary outcomes will be improved stage of change for smoking cessation and behavior changes including self-reported calls and referrals to the Alabama State quitline, enacting a home or vehicle smoking ban, or smoking reduction or cessation.

This project will pilot a secondhand smoke awareness/ tobacco cessation intervention for families of asthmatic patients receiving care at Children's Hospital Primary Care Center. This study proposes that increased identification of a patient's secondhand smoke exposure, assessing parental readiness to quit, and delivering targeted counseling interventions through an asthma medical home framework will facilitate increased opportunities to positively impact the health of pediatric asthma patients.

The goal of this study is to change pediatricians' approach to parents who smoke by providing a much-needed service at an opportune moment. Smoking caregivers of hospitalized children will be recruited and randomized to the intervention or control group; the intervention group will include brief smoking cessation counseling and referral to the state's Quitline.

The goal of this study is to determine the association between asthma and markers of inflammation in both blood and nasal secretions of two-year-old children exposed to secondhand smoke. Parents of 45 children will be interviewed, chart reviews will be conducted, and saliva samples will be taken from children to determine their exposure to secondhand tobacco smoke.

The study aims to determine the association between secondhand smoke exposure and serum markers of inflammation in hospitalized children by comparing serum levels of inflammatory markers in healthy smoke-exposed and non-smoke-exposed children who are scheduled to have a routine ear, nose, and throat procedure.

The goal of this study is to prevent postpartum smoking relapse during the first eight weeks after the birth of a preterm infant in mothers who quit smoking just prior to or during their pregnancy. Maternal knowledge about preterm infants' behavioral cues, levels of maternal stress and depression, and duration of breastfeeding will also be evaluated.

Two brief motivational interventions will target smoking mothers of children less than six years who present to Emergency Departments with high and low motivation to quit. Interventions will be piloted with a follow-up phone call and resource card; a control group will receive general advice and a resource card. The primary outcome is change in self-reported number of cigarettes smoked daily at one month.

This randomized controlled trial evaluated the effectiveness of a structured tobacco cessation education program (NY-CEASE), delivered by pediatric residents in the outpatient continuity clinic of a pediatric residency program in reducing the exposure of infants to secondhand smoke, and the efficacy of using cotinine measurement and feedback as an adjunct to counseling versus usual care.