Education & Training Program

In 2000, the Public Health Service published the Clinical Practice Guideline, Treating Tobacco Use and Dependence. An important conclusion based on extensive review of the literature is that "Brief advice by medical providers to quit smoking is effective." One of the goals of our education program is to facilitate the provision of effective interventions for tobacco use by Mississippi healthcare providers in the clinical setting.

Since the Spring of 2000, we have trained over 5000 healthcare professionals across the state of Mississippi. The professionals who attend our programs represent many disciplines, including medicine, dentistry, psychology, nursing, respiratory therapy, dental hygiene, dental assisting, occupational therapy, social work, pharmacy, and mental health.

Our pre-workshop surveys reveal that most providers report no prior training in tobacco intervention and most felt unprepared to assist their patients in stopping tobacco use. In contrast, post-training surveys reveal a higher score on preparedness, a desire for additional training, and an overall high degree of satisfaction with the program.

Our training program has evolved over the years. We began with the standard NCI approach, which has remained the foundation. We are now presenting our third major update to this program. Our 4-hour workshop emphasizes: (a) a blend of local and national statistics, (b) health overview, (c) a detailed review of intervention strategies, supported by role plays, (d) medications review, (e) application of motivational interviewing techniques within the 5A / 5R structure, (f) special population issues, (g) components for systems change within the clinic environment, and (h) PHS guideline recommendations review.

We have also designed and implemented a System Implementation Visit to provide a tailored, onsite consultation to assist with the implementation of our tobacco intervention program. This supplemental program was established to facilitate the environmental and systems level changes in the healthcare setting, now known to play a critical role in the efficacy and maintenance of the intervention effort. Office personnel are taught how to integrate their efforts to produce better outcomes. In addition, specific resources are provided to support the intervention message, including patient literature, "No Tobacco" signs, table displays, tobacco use stamp, etc.