TOBACCO CONTROL CONTINUING EDUCATION FOR PHYSICIANS

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): This SBIR Phase II application proposes to develop, evaluate, and implement an Internet-based continuing education (CE) program to teach primary care physicians and residents about tobacco control techniques. The CE program will be available via the Internet and will include clinical scenarios, information for physicians to give to patients, and discussion capability (via bulletin boards). The AAFP and HealthCME corn will provide CE credit. The project will develop a suite of 9 courses. In Phase I we created a prototype course that included a straightforward clinical scenario involving 4 patients where screening and intervention were indicated. We also developed and evaluated assessment instruments to measure the effect of the course. Phase II of the project will complete the eight other courses, and evaluate all courses over a six month period to investigate the benefit of a series of courses and evaluate potential benefit over time.