PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Ofei-Dodoo, Samuel
AU  - Nutting, Ruth
AU  - Gilchrist, Karissa
AU  - Kellerman, Rick
TI  - Family medicine physicians’ perceptions of electronic cigarettes in tobacco use counseling between 2016 and 2019
AID  - 10.1370/afm.20.s1.2692
DP  - 2022 Apr 01
TA  - The Annals of Family Medicine
PG  - 2692
VI  - 20
IP  - Supplement 1
4099  - http://www.annfammed.org/content/20/Supplement_1/2692.short
4100  - http://www.annfammed.org/content/20/Supplement_1/2692.full
SO  - Ann Fam Med2022 Apr 01; 20
AB  - Introduction. Given the recent reports of e-cigarette, or vaping, product use-associated lung injury (EVALI) and harm of e-cigarettes, the authors evaluated changes in the use and perception of e-cigarettes as tobacco use cessation tools in 2019 relative to 2016. The authors also evaluated the sources family physicians most commonly use to receive information regarding e-cigarettes.Methods. A cross-sectional online survey of 248 family physicians in Kansas was conducted from October 2019 to December 2019. An 11-item questionnaire measured the participants’ perceptions of recommending e-cigarettes to patients for tobacco cessation. A mixed method approach was used to collect, analyze, and interpret the data. Standard descriptive statistics, Likelihood-Ratio/Fisher’s exact tests, and immersion-crystallization methods were used to analyze the data.Results. The response rate was 59.3% (147/248). The proportion of the family physicians who did not recommend e-cigarettes for tobacco use cessation was significantly higher in 2019 than in 2016 (86% vs. 82%; χ2 [1, n = 261] = 12.31; p < 0.01). Several reasons regarding respondents’ perceptions of e-cigarettes as tobacco use cessation tools were reported. The medical literature and news media were the top sources where family physicians accessed e-cigarettes information.Conclusion. Most family physicians did not recommend e-cigarettes for tobacco cessation. Opinions regarding the efficacy and safety of e-cigarettes were influenced by information sources. Future, larger studies would be beneficial to further determine family physicians’ beliefs and practices regarding e-cigarettes as tobacco use cessation products.