Providers' experiences caring for adolescents who smoke cigarettes

To describe providers' experiences screening for and counseling adolescent patients who smoke cigarettes.

Eight qualitative focus groups were conducted with 51 health care providers in primary care settings. Focus groups were video- and audiotaped; tapes were transcribed for coding by an interdisciplinary team using the constant comparative method.

Providers reported experiences screening for and managing adolescent patients who reported smoking cigarettes.

Providers expressed confidence in their ability to screen adolescent patients for tobacco use, particularly as part of regularly scheduled preventive and medical visits. Providers reported difficulty balancing screening for smoking with their concern for maintaining rapport with their adolescent patients. In addition, providers reported that adolescent smoking patterns differed from those of adults, and consequently, providers were not certain at what level of smoking an adolescent required intervention. Furthermore, providers were unclear regarding what interventions were recommended for and effective with adolescents.

Providers are interested in adolescent evidence-based screening methods and cessation interventions that are supportive of a nonjudgmental and empathic approach to caring for adolescent smokers, particularly those with irregular and situational smoking patterns.