Volume 29, Issue 5: October, 2002

Abstract

Dissemination of an Efficacious Antenatal Smoking Cessation Program in Public Hospitals in Australia: A Randomized Controlled Trial

John B. Lowe, DrPH, Kevin P. Balanda, PhD, Warren R. Stanton, PhD, Chris Del Mar, FRACGP, FAFPHM, and Vivienne O'Connor, FRACOG, FRCOG

This study investigated the impact of a behaviorally based intervention designed to increase the number of hospitals that routinely provide effective smoking cessation programs for pregnant women. In Queensland, Australia, 70 publicly funded hospitals were matched on numbers of births and maternal socioeconomic status and randomly allocated to an awareness-only intervention group or a behaviorally based intervention group. Success was defined as the routine offer of an evidence-based smoking cessation program to at least 80% of the pregnant clients who smoke. At 1 month, 65% of the behaviorally based intervention hospitals agreed to provide materials about smoking cessation programs for their antenatal patients, compared with 3% of the awareness-only hospitals. After 1 year, 43% of the intervention hospitals still provided the material, compared with 9% of the awareness-only hospitals. These findings show that a brief intervention to hospitals can encourage antenatal staff to provide smoking cessation materials to pregnant women.