Research Priorities for FCTC Articles 20, 21, and 22: Surveillance/Evaluation and Information Exchange

Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) Articles 20, 21, and 22 call for strong monitoring and reporting of tobacco use and factors influencing use and disease (Articles 20 and 21) and for collaboration among the Parties and relevant organizations to share resources, knowledge, and expertise on all relevant tobacco control strategies (Article 22)

College health providers’ knowledge and confidence in addressing college students’ vaping

Aims: There has been a call for health providers to increase their awareness and confidence when discussing vaping with college students. This may be particularly relevant given the rapidly changing vape landscape. Vaping nicotine or cannabis products is popular, and rates of vaping are typically higher among younger adults compared to mid-aged or older adults. Therefore, the aim of this study was to examine the knowledge and confidence of college healthcare providers regarding vaping among college students. Methods: Pilot data was collected from 51 college health providers located at 26 colleges in the 64-campus State University of New York (SUNY) system. Knowledge of vaping was assessed using a number of items, including, “Do you find students on your campus use electronic cigarettes more often for vaping nicotine or for vaping cannabis?” Response options were: nicotine, cannabis, don’t know. Descriptive statistics were used to characterize the study findings. Results: College health providers agree (76%) that vaping is a problem on their campus. They largely felt knowledgeable (80.9%) and confident (87.8%) in discussing vaping. However, the majority (67%) of these health providers reported they “don’t know” what product college students are vaping. Importantly, most indicate learning about vaping is a priority area (74%), and indicate they have time to learn more about vaping (82%). Conclusions: Overall, findings indicate a potential disconnect between providers’ perceived and actual knowledge of college student vaping. Understanding what products students are using, whether alone or in combination, will help to tailor messaging to students and inform prevention and intervention initiatives. These findings, as a whole, demonstrate areas of opportunity to assist college health providers in comprehensively addressing vaping with their college student populations. Future research is needed to better understand from where health providers are obtaining their knowledge of vaping, and if this knowledge is, in fact, accurate.https://digitalcommons.buffalostate.edu/fsrcf_nss/1005/thumbnail.jp

College health providers’ knowledge and confidence in addressing students’ vaping: Evidence from a pilot study in New York State

Objective: This study examines the knowledge and confidence of college healthcare providers in discussing vaping with their college student populations. Methods: This is a mixed-methods descriptive study using a sequential-explanatory approach, consisting of a cross-sectional, online survey followed by qualitative interviews. Survey data was collected from 50 college health providers located at 26 colleges in the 64-campus State University of New York system. Targeted semi-structured interviews (N = 11) were conducted by telephone with providers who completed the survey. Results: Despite high reported levels of knowledge and confidence, few providers had participated in educational activities relative to vaping. There was evidence of misinformation about e-cigarettes, and they did not know what product (nicotine/cannabis) students typically vape. Conclusions: Findings indicate a potential disconnect between providers’ perceived and actual knowledge of college student vaping and demonstrate areas of opportunity to assist college health providers in comprehensively addressing vaping with their college student populations. Innovation: College health providers played a key role in lowering rates of combustible cigarette smoking, but little is known about how they are now are communicating with college students about e-cigarette and cannabis vaping. This paper examines college health providers’ knowledge, confidence, and training needs relative to vaping communications