Dr. Borrelli publishes study: Teachable Moments Motivate Parents of Kids with Asthma to Quit Smoking
A study led by Boston University Henry M. Goldman School of Dental Medicine (GSDM) faculty member Dr. Belinda Borrelli, which has been published in “Addiction” has found that parents who smoke are more likely to quit smoking if they witness a “Teachable Moment” (TM), which are events that raise awareness of the risks of smoking. Specifically, she found that parents of children with asthma who experienced a TM (child’s asthma exacerbation) and receive motivational smoking cessation counseling + biomarker feedback were more than twice as likely to quit smoking as parents of healthy children who received identical counseling and biomarker feedback.
Dr. Borrelli is a Professor of Health Policy & Health Services Research and Director of Behavioral Science Research in the Department of Health Policy & Health Services Research.
The study, “Motivating parents of kids with asthma to quit smoking: the effect of the teachable moment and increasing intervention intensity using a longitudinal randomized trial design,” also found that in-home counseling visits, including biomarker feedback on their child’s second hand smoke exposure (SHSe) and motivational interviewing counseling phone calls improved the likelihood of smoking cessation and decreased the amount of SHSe.
“Despite the fact that our sample had a high prevalence of risk factors that are typically associated with difficulty quitting smoking such as lower education, low income, single mothers, etc. we achieved quit rates that were two-five times greater than spontaneous quit rates,” said Dr. Borrelli.
Despite a reduction in overall smoking prevalence, parental smoking and pediatric SHSe remain high, particularly among minority and low income families with children with asthma. More than 40 percent of all children are exposed to SHSe, which increases the risk for asthma.
| According to Dr. Borrelli, a Teachable Moment is an event that raises the awareness of health, which in turn, increases the receptivity to health-related messages. |
The study also found that, among parents of children with asthma, those who received long-term phone-based Motivational Interviewing counseling for smoking cessation plus repeated biomarker feedback were more than twice as likely to quit smoking versus parents who received short-term counseling with no repeated biomarker feedback. These parents also had children with an 81 percent lower risk of being hospitalized for asthma and were about half as likely to miss school due to asthma or have asthma symptoms.
| Parents of children with asthma who received long-term phone-based Motivational Interviewing counseling for smoking cessation plus repeated biomarker feedback were more than twice as likely to quit smoking versus parents who received short-term counseling with no repeated biomarker feedback. |
Dr. Borrelli believes that these results underscore the need to develop novel interventions to motivate cessation and augment risk perception among parents of healthy children, who had lower quit rates in the study.
Funding for this study was provided by a grant from the National Institutes of Health (National Heart, lung and Blood Institute).
Look for more about Dr. Borrelli in upcoming editions of Outlook This Week and BU Today.