Compliance with primary prevention in private practice: creating a tobacco-free environment.
A sample of private orthodontic practices (n = 40) from a controlled trial for clinician-initiated tobacco-use prevention was used to test the effectiveness of preventive medicine representative (PMR) visits in creating and maintaining an anti-tobacco office environment. Clinical staff of 20 offices, randomly assigned to the experimental group, were trained by a PMR on the use of anti-tobacco materials (no-smoking signs, posters, and print materials). Twenty control-group offices did not receive any training or special treatment. Subsequently, experimental-group offices were visited by a PMR once every three months and were telephoned six weeks after each visit over a 12-month period. During visits and phone calls, PMRs prompted offices to order anti-tobacco materials. Visits served to introduce offices to new materials and to encourage their continued use. Data from direct observations and self-report measures showed significant differences between experimental and control offices for display of anti-tobacco materials at 1.5 months and 12 months (P < .001). Results suggest that PMR visits may serve as an effective method of introducing and maintaining preventive medicine procedures in clinical environments.
Hovell
M F
MF
Center for Behavioral Epidemiology, Graduate School of Public Health, San Diego State University, CA 92182-4162, USA.
Russos
S
S
Beckhelm
M K
MK
Jones
J A
JA
Burkham-Kreitner
S M
SM
Slymen
D J
DJ
Hofstetter
C R
CR
Rubin
B
B
D003256:Community Participation; D006293:Health Promotion; D006801:Humans; D009970:Orthodontics; D011331:Private Practice; D000074606:Smoking Prevention