Pilot study using hair nicotine feedback to reduce Latino children's environmental tobacco smoke exposure.

Purpose: This was a pilot study to assess the usability and impact of a feedback-based environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) reduction approach for Latino families.
Design: A one-group, pre-post design was used.
Methods: Information from hair samples from children analyzed for nicotine was used to create three feedback versions presented in a counterbalanced fashion. The intervention was conducted by a promotora in the participants' homes, with mailed materials and over the phone. Fifty Latino parent-child pairs were recruited. Parents were Spanish-speaking smoking adults (typically the mother) who reported exposing their children to ETS. Intervention efforts included home visits to provide nicotine feedback and counseling, two mailers presenting alternative versions of the feedback, and a supportive telephone call delivered over a 6-week period. Pre-post assessments conducted by a bicultural measurement technician measured parent reports of children's ETS exposure and children's hair nicotine. Parents' liking/usability of the three feedback formats was measured at the post-assessment. Paired t-tests assessed pre-post changes in exposure outcomes.
Results: Parents' reports of exposure and children's hair nicotine levels showed statistically significant reductions. Parents liked all three feedback formats, particularly a comparative graphic format.
Conclusions: Consistency of the positive findings suggests that this feedback approach to ETS reduction warrants further study with a more rigorous design.