1. Reaching Tobacco Treatment Providers Through Online Training INTRODUCTION  U.S. Public Health Service Guidelines recommend that health care professionals routinely conduct brief interventions with all patients who use tobacco.  A variety of allied health care and social services professionals interact daily with tobacco users creating ongoing opportunities to intervene around tobacco use.  However, most of these health professionals do not have the necessary knowledge, skills or confidence to conduct an effective brief intervention.  There are limited training opportunities on how to work with tobacco users and the training that is available is not readily accessible.  Basic Skills for Working with Smokers online course was designed to fill the need for a low cost and readily accessible training for health care providers who deal with tobacco users.  The course is intended to train healthcare providers to conduct minimal interventions with tobacco users.  Initial development of both the in-person and online courses were supported by the Massachusetts Tobacco Control Program. Esther Kamiri, MPH, Denise Jolicoeur, MPH, CHES, Beth M. Ewy, MPH, CHES, Lori Pbert, PhD University of Massachusetts Medical School, Division of Preventive and Behavioral Medicine METHODS Data Collection  Conducted via online tools embedded within the course, including: 1.Demographic Survey – six questions assessing level of education, age, gender, work setting and professional licenses. 2.Course Evaluation – eighteen questions on satisfaction with various course components. 3.Final Quiz – 20 multiple choice questions to evaluate participants’ mastery of basic course concepts. Statistical Analysis  Frequency distribution, percentages and means were calculated. RESULTS CONCLUSIONS  Course evaluation and demographic survey are anonymous limiting data analysis conducted.  No pre-course data collected, thus unable to compare pre- course data with post-course data.  Missing data due to participants not answering some of the questions.  The data is self-reported thus is not an objective measure of acquired skills. OBJECTIVES  Describe the University of Massachusetts Medical School’s Basic Skills for Working with Smokers online course.  Describe characteristics of tobacco treatment providers who have completed the course.  Examine providers’ confidence in their ability to intervene with tobacco users following course completion.  Examine participants’ satisfaction with the online course. LIMITATIONS  1375 participants enrolled since 2003 (see Figure 1)  849 completed all course requirements (quiz, demographic survey and course evaluation)  Mean score 89.08%, range 30% – 100% and standard deviation 22.36%  Age of the participants (see Table 1)  Participant level of education (see Figure 2)  Participant work setting (see Figure 3)  Satisfaction with the ability to intervene with tobacco users (see Figure 4)  Overall course satisfaction (see Figure 5)  Online tobacco treatment training provides access to training for many individuals who may not otherwise have the opportunity to participate.  The high mean test scores suggest that participants have gained basic knowledge to intervene with tobacco users through this type of training.  Participants report that the course provided them with the necessary knowledge and skills to confidently intervene with tobacco users.  This method of training is perceived as highly satisfactory by participants.  The wide variation in participants (age, education level, work setting and geographic location) demonstrates the ability for this training to reach a broad population of healthcare providers. Age CategoriesNumber of ParticipantsPercentage (%) Under 3018822% 31 - 4017821% 41- 5026731% Over 5021025% Not Answered61% Total849100% International participants from: Canada, Japan, Indonesia, Germany, Northern Ireland, New Zealand and Saudi Arabia - Course participants’ locations by state Table 1 Age of Participants (N=849 ) Level of Education (N=849) Figure 2 Working Setting (N=849) Figure 3 Satisfaction in Ability to Intervene with Tobacco Users After Course Completion (N=849) Figure 4 Participants’ Overall Satisfaction with the Online Course (N = 849) Figure 5 Participants’ Locations Figure 1 BASIC SKILLS FOR WORKING WITH SMOKERS COURSE DESCRIPTION  Developed in 1999 through formative work consisting of key informant interviews at both state and national levels that supported the need to develop a training program for tobacco treatment providers.  Provides introductory level information and skills necessary for health care professionals to educate patients about the health risks of tobacco use, motivate patients to seek treatment and advise patients about quit smoking strategies.  Conducted as an in-person, 2 - day training from 2000 – 2003.  Adapted to an online format in 2003.  Open to all health care professionals who encounter tobacco users in the course of their work.  Prerequisite to the more intense Tobacco Treatment Specialist (TTS) Core Certification training offered at UMass.