Getting household smokers help through your child's pediatrician
Official title: Refer 2 Quit: Proactive Promotion of Tobacco Use Treatment for Household Members Who Smoke through Pediatric Primary Care
Funded at Children's Hosp of Philadelphia · NIH-11171656 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project offers help from pediatric clinics to connect adults in your home who smoke with quitting support so children are less exposed to secondhand smoke.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R37 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Children's Hosp of Philadelphia NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Philadelphia, United States) |
| Project start | September 1, 2023 |
| Project end | August 31, 2028 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| Award (this year) | $733,041 |
| NIH project number | 5R37CA282153-03 |
| Project ID | NIH-11171656 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Households with young children (especially ages 0–11) that include one or more adults who smoke, and families who receive care at participating pediatric clinics, are the ideal candidates.
✕Less likely to help
People without children, households where no adult smokes, or adults who cannot be reached or who decline outreach are unlikely to benefit directly.
What this research studies
At your child's pediatric clinic, doctors and staff will use electronic health record tools to identify and reach household members who smoke, not just the parent who brings the child. The team will send prompts, make outreach calls or texts, and provide referrals, counseling, and medication prescriptions or connections to quitline services. They will track whether these outreach efforts lead to more adults engaging in treatment and whether children experience less secondhand smoke exposure. The approach combines clinic-based reminders with population health follow-up to make tobacco treatment easier for all adults in the home.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: More adults in households with children could get effective quitting help and children could have reduced exposure to secondhand smoke.
How similar studies have gone: Previous clinic-based programs and electronic health record prompts have helped some parents engage in smoking cessation, but proactively reaching all household members is a newer, less-tested approach.
Where this research is happening
-
Children's Hosp of Philadelphia
Philadelphia, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Jenssen, Brian P. — Children's Hosp of Philadelphia
- Study coordinator: Jenssen, Brian P.
Related research
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Refer 2 Quit: Proactively Reach Household Members Who Smoke Through Pediatric Care
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About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.