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APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Michael D. Seserman, MPH, RD, American Cancer Society, Eastern Division, 260 Osborne Rd, Loudonville, NY 12211, 518 454-4016, michael.seserman@cancer.org

In recent years, the number of hospitals with smokefree grounds polices has increased with the passage of clean indoor air laws, concerns about exposure to secondhand smoke, and the strengthening of quality measures on addressing tobacco use among certain patients by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations. Likewise, a slow paradigm shift is occurring in the substance abuse treatment field to address tobacco like other addictions. This professional norm change is causing some agencies to prohibit all tobacco use on their property. In New York, the state addiction treatment agency has started the process of modifying the governing regulations of all chemical dependence programs to incorporate tobacco dependence treatment and restrict tobacco use on their grounds. These tobacco control policy changes occurring in diverse healthcare organizations are proving to be excellent vehicles to advance the implementation of the system level strategies to treat tobacco dependence recommended by the 2000 U.S. Public Health Service Clinical Practice Guideline (e.g., tobacco-user identification system, dedicate staff to treat tobacco dependence, assess the delivery of this treatment). In the upstate New York area, a collaborative approach was successfully used to promote smokefree grounds policies among 20 hospitals and 11 addiction treatment agencies. In preparation for implementation of these policies, facilities have undertaken aggressive internal measures to ensure that tobacco using patients, employees, and visitors receive appropriate support and treatment for their tobacco addiction. Several process and outcome indicators have emerged from these initiatives, which will be reviewed in order to inform future efforts.

Learning Objectives: By the end of this session participants will be able to

• Assess regional opportunities and develop a plan to use smokefree grounds policy development as a means to promote the implementation of new systems to treat tobacco dependence in healthcare settings.
• Identify the steps to creating a regional collaboration to facilitate and support the tobacco policy and practice changes at each facility.

Keywords: Clinical Prevention Services, Policy/Policy Development

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Not Answered

Handout (.ppt format, 1920.0 kb)