Short report: Paediatricians' attitude towards counselling parents postpartum about their smoking behaviour.
BACKGROUND
To investigate the attitudes of paediatricians in private practice towards counselling smoking parents of infants on their smoking behaviour.


METHODS
Questionnaires were mailed to 188 eligible paediatricians in Mecklenburg-West Pommerania.


RESULTS
The response rate to this survey was 62%. With regard to risk factors, 54% of respondents counsel parents on the occasion of well-child visits. Around 89% grant Environmental Tobacco Smoke (ETS) a high priority with regard to counselling and 26% of respondents obtain smoking status from parents routinely. From the sample, 66% wish to be trained in a brief intervention for counselling in everyday practice.


CONCLUSIONS
Smoking and ETS are seen as prominent health threats and paediatricians look for brief interventions to be used in clinical practice.
Hannöver
Wolfgang
W
University of Greifswald, Medical Faculty, Institute of Epidemiology and Social Medicine, Greifswald, Germany. hannoeve@uni-greifswald.de
Thyrian
Jochen René
JR
John
Ulrich
U
D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D003376:Counseling; D005260:Female; D005858:Germany; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010290:Parents / Q000193:education* / Q000523:psychology; D010372:Pediatrics; D010817:Physician-Patient Relations; D010820:Physicians / Q000523:psychology*; D049590:Postpartum Period; D012907:Smoking / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000453:epidemiology; D000074606:Smoking Prevention; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires