title: Attitudes toward smoking and family-based health promotion among rural mothers and other primary caregivers who smoke.
abstract: The family milieu provides a potential context for integrating smoking cessation and prevention activities to complement school-based efforts. In this study, surveys were mailed to caregivers of elementary school children to assess demographics, smoking characteristics and attitudes, and receptivity to and preferred format for health promotion programs. Fifty-three percent (n = 276) of 501 caregivers responded. Among smokers, most did not want their children to smoke, and they wanted to quit themselves; 91% considered it important to involve their children in their smoking cessation attempts; and 70% expressed willingness to participate in health promotion for the entire family. Written materials either mailed home or brought home from school were the preferred program formats. These findings suggest the feasibility of a program in which adults and children work together at home on smoking cessation and prevention activities that might increase the effectiveness of school-based smoking prevention messages.
authors.affiliation: Cancer Control and Education Program, University of North Carolina, Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, Campus Box 7295, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-7295, USA.
authors.forename: E C
authors.initials: EC
authors.lastname: Tilson
authors.forename: C M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: McBride
authors.forename: J B
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: Albright
authors.forename: J D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Sargent
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001294:Attitude to Health; D017028:Caregivers / Q000523:psychology*; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D005195:Family Relations; D005260:Female; D006293:Health Promotion / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009035:Mothers / Q000523:psychology; D009657:North Carolina / Q000453:epidemiology; D011159:Population Surveillance; D011336:Probability; D012307:Risk Factors; D012424:Rural Population; D012907:Smoking / Q000453:epidemiology*; D016540:Smoking Cessation / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D000074606:Smoking Prevention