Tobacco Control Activities of Primary Care Physicians in California

Abstract

The primary purpose of this study was to ascertain tobacco control attitudes, practices, and level of involvement in tobacco activities funded by the California Tobacco Tax Initiative prior to and after implementation of statewide programs aimed at primary health care providers. In addition, the study compared the statewide results with a county where there has been widespread tobacco control activity aimed at health care providers. A 32-item questionnaire, developed to ascertain attitudes, practices, and policies related to tobacco contrml, was completed by 581 (35%) of the 1,680 statewide physicians contacted and 460 (31%) of the 1,500 county physicians contacted. Both cohorts who responded to the pretest questionnaire were resurveyed 1 year later Results of the two-way MANOVA revealed statistical significance on both main effects (county vs. state and pretest vs. post-test). Subsequent univariate F tests revealed statistically significant differences between groups on the set of variables measuring involvement in programs funded by Proposition 99. Results indicate that statewide tobacco control programs aimed at providers might be having an impact on physicians 'practices and level of involvement in tobacco programs.

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