Improving provider screening and intervention rates for second hand smoking in a pediatric outpatient clinic

Goal: Exposure to tobacco from secondhand smoke (SHS) is a serious health threat that causes an estimated 40,000 deaths per year according to the CDC. Children are especially vulnerable to the effects of SHS, which is a major risk factor for asthma, SIDS, and respiratory infections. Caregivers visit pediatricians more often than their own doctor, giving these providers multiple opportunities to screen for tobacco use and offer interventions. In the summer of 2018, a quality improvement project in this pediatric outpatient clinic spearheaded efforts to improve screening and intervention rates by introducing a standardized workflow and trainings for healthcare providers. Despite this, the …