During 1997 and 1998, the National Medical Association engaged African-American clinicians in training other clinicians to follow a clinical practice guideline on smoking cessation and in disseminating and implementing the guideline, Smoking Cessation, Clinical Practice Guideline, No. 18.

Published by the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research (now called the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality) in 1996, the Guideline includes a systematic and scientifically proven approach for encouraging smokers to quit.

The National Medical Association, established in 1895, represents the nation's 22,000 African-American physicians and health care professionals. This project was part of its tobacco control program.

Key Results

Under this grant, staff from the National Medical Association:

• Trained eight African-American physicians experienced in tobacco intervention as a core group to train other clinicians in the dissemination and implementation of the Guideline.
• Trained 30 smoking cessation specialists to help clinicians implement the Guideline.
• Trained 125 clinicians in the implementation of the Guideline through six on-site training sessions.
• Disseminated the Guideline and supplemental materials (fact sheets, brochures, newsletter, letters and posters) to 3,600 physicians and health care providers and approximately 1,000 community participants, smoking cessation specialists and college students.
• Produced two training videotapes (one for clinicians and one for consumers) about the Guideline.

Funding

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) supported this project through a grant of $52,274.