Poster Presentation
Thursday, July 12, 2007
9:30 AM - 10:15 AM
Thursday, July 12, 2007
3:15 PM - 4:00 PM
Supporting Underserved Pregnant Women through a Smoking Cessation Program
Theresa A. Kessler, PhD, APRN, BC, Elise M. Alverson, MSN, APRN, BC, FNP, Sarah Cottrell, N/A, and Katherine Gordon. College of Nursing, Valparaiso University, Valparaiso, IN, USA
| Learning Objective #1: identify factors that influence the smoking behaviors of underserved pregnant women. |
| Learning Objective #2: describe interventions which support the intention to quit smoking in underserved pregnant women. |
The purpose of this project is to assess smoking patterns and support smoking cessation for underserved pregnant women. A target sample of 100 subjects is being recruited for this longitudinal study. Undergraduate research assistants are distributing questionnaires to determine smoking history and preference to stop smoking during prenatal visits at a community health center. Using the Transtheoretical Model, interventions for smoking cessation are designed to support the subject’s movement along the stages of change. Pregnant women may present to health care providers at any stage of the change process. Those subjects not ready to begin smoking cessation are given information to encourage movement towards quitting smoking. Those subjects who identify a willingness to quit smoking are given a smoking cessation “quit kit” and “quit” booklet. These materials are designed to help the subjects begin the process of smoking cessation. All pregnant women who stop smoking will be followed to support the behavioral change and to prevent a smoking relapse. The subjects will be followed during and after their pregnancy for a total of 18 months to evaluate the effectiveness of the interventions to quit smoking. Both qualitative and quantitative data will be analyzed to determine the most effective means of supporting smoking cessation in this group of underserved pregnant women.