Reduction of Environmental Tobacco Smoke Exposure in Asthmatic Children

Study objective

To examine the long-term maintenance of a previously reported behavioral counseling intervention to reduce asthmatic children's exposure to environmental tobacco smoke (ETS).

Participants

Families of asthmatic children (6 to 17 years), including at least one parent who smoked in the home, recruited from four pediatric allergy clinics.

Design

Participants were randomized to one of three groups: behavioral counseling to reduce ETS exposure, self-monitoring control, and usual medical care control. Counseling concluded at month 6, and the original trial ended at month 12. Two follow-up interviews occurred at months 20 and 30.

Measurements and results

The originally reported analysis of baseline to 12 months was reanalyzed with a more robust restricted maximum likelihood procedure. The 2-year follow-up period was analyzed similarly. Significantly greater change occurred in the counseling group than the control groups and was sustained throughout the 2 years of follow-up. Further exploratory analyses suggested that printed counseling materials given to all participants at month 12 (conclusion of the original study) were associated with decreased exposure in the control groups. Conclusion: Such long-term maintenance of behavior change is highly unusual in the general behavioral science literature, let alone for addictive behaviors. We conclude that ETS exposure can be reduced and that a clinician-delivered treatment may provide substantial benefit.