NICU Asthma Education and Secondhand Smoke Reduction Study

Not Applicable

Completed

Interventions: Behavioral: Secondhand Smoke Reduction and Smoking Cessation Counseling
Behavioral: Asthma Education

Brief Summary: Premature infants have a significantly increased risk for developing respiratory illnesses and asthma. Secondhand smoke (SHS) also is clearly associated with increased breathing problems in children, thus exposure to smoke makes it substantially more likely for a premature infant to develop wheezing. The overall goal of this study is to test whether comprehensive asthma education combined with a home-based secondhand smoke reduction program can reduce exposure to smoke and prevent respiratory illness among premature infants. Our hypotheses are:

* More premature infants whose families receive asthma education combined with a SHS reduction intervention will live in smoke-free environments compared to infants receiving only asthma education (control group).

* Caregivers receiving the SHS reduction program will have higher rates of quit attempts and less relapse into smoking compared to caregivers in the control group.

* Infants whose families receive the combined intervention will experience less respiratory illness compared to infants in the control group.

Recruitment & Eligibility

Inclusion Criteria

≤32 weeks gestation
Planned discharge to home from the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit
Parent or caregiver must consent to the intervention
The first sibling discharged, for twins or infants from a multiple birth pregnancy

Exclusion Criteria

Inability to speak and understand English
No access to a working phone for follow-up surveys (either at the subject's home or an easily accessible alternate home)
Family residence outside the greater Rochester area (more than 30 miles away)
Children in foster care or other situations in which guardian consent cannot be obtained
The child having significant medical conditions, including serious heart disease, cystic fibrosis, or other conditions that could interfere with the assessment of respiratory-related outcome measures

Arm && Interventions

Group	Intervention	Description
Secondhand Smoke Reduction and Asthma Education	Asthma Education	Parents of children in the experimental group will receive asthma education at NICU discharge as well as a secondhand smoke reduction program.
Secondhand Smoke Reduction and Asthma Education	Secondhand Smoke Reduction and Smoking Cessation Counseling	Parents of children in the experimental group will receive asthma education at NICU discharge as well as a secondhand smoke reduction program.
Asthma Education	Asthma Education	Parents of children in the active comparator group will receive asthma education at NICU discharge.

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Infants Living in Smoke-free Environments.	5 months post baseline	Infants living in homes with a "home smoking ban" rule

Secondary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Respiratory Morbidity Assessed Through Respiratory Symptoms as Well as Health Care Utilization for Respiratory Illnesses.	2, 5, and 7-9 months post baseline