Adolescent electronic cigarette counselling: knowledge, attitudes and perceived barriers among clinical staff in a primary care setting

Objective To assess knowledge, attitudes, and perceived barriers (KAP) regarding e-cigarette use counselling among adolescent healthcare clinical staff in an urban system, and to compare results between providers and rooming staff. Methods Primary care clinical staff (n = 169) completed an anonymous survey. Descriptive statistics and Chi-square tests were used to summarize data and compare KAP between medical providers and rooming staff. Results Staff wanted to learn more about e-cigarettes (87.6%). The most common knowledge deficits were how to use the 5As + 5Rs model for tobacco cessation counselling (66.7%) and the chemical content of e-liquids (55.4%), with no differences across groups. Overall, 58% of providers expressed confidence in their ability to talk with adolescent patients about e-cigarette use. The most common barriers to counselling were low knowledge about e-cigarettes (74.0%) and how to refer adolescent patients for cessation support (43.8%). Conclusions Provider and rooming staff expressed similar educational needs surrounding e-cigarettes, counselling, and treatment for adolescent patients. Clinical staff expressed confidence in their ability to affect change. There were no differences in the identified knowledge gaps or barriers to care between rooming staff and providers, suggesting that the same educational format can be used to target both groups.