RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Family medicine physicians’ perceptions of electronic cigarettes in tobacco use counseling between 2016 and 2019
JF The Annals of Family Medicine
JO Ann Fam Med
FD American Academy of Family Physicians
SP 2692
DO 10.1370/afm.20.s1.2692
VO 20
IS Supplement 1
A1 Ofei-Dodoo, Samuel
A1 Nutting, Ruth
A1 Gilchrist, Karissa
A1 Kellerman, Rick
YR 2022
UL http://www.annfammed.org/content/20/Supplement_1/2692.abstract
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.