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Vol.21, No.12, December 2005
1. Keep Your Eye On…decline in pediatric antidepressant prescribing
2. Study looks at teen smoking-cessation media campaign
3. Related articles in the CRN web site
Keep Your Eye On…decline in pediatric antidepressant
prescribing
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Two-year data from NDC Health Inc. indicate that the number
of antidepressants prescribed to patients 18 years and younger
has declined nearly 20% since March 2004. Since the FDA’s
public health advisory of a possible association between antidepressants
and increased risk of suicide, and subsequent implementation
of black box warnings, the downward shift in prescribing patterns
raises the question of whether children and adolescents with
depression who are no longer taking antidepressants are receiving
effective and appropriate treatment options, or any type of
care at all. According to Thomas Insel, M.D., Director of the
National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), “NIMH has large
studies under way looking at whether the decrease in SSRI utilization
might be associated with an increase in suicidality rather than
a drop in suicide, and my expectation is that we may see an
increase.” Adelaide Robb, M.D., Children’s National Medical
Center, Washington, D.C., suggests that the data are “worrisome,”
and questions if there has been a corresponding increase in
non-pharmacological treatments such as cognitive behavioral
therapy or other types of treatment that are known to be effective
in adults.
[Rosack J: Psychiatr News 2005; 40(17):1.]
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Study looks at teen smoking-cessation
media campaign
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A smoking-cessation media campaign, GottaQuit.com, appears
to be an effective internet source to help adolescents who want
to stop smoking. According to a telephone survey evaluating
the results of the media campaign, nearly all teen smokers reported
that they wanted to stop smoking. Nearly 1 out of 4 survey respondents
who were trying to quit had visited GottaQuit.com(http://www.gottaquit.com/)
or another website for assistance with smoking cessation.
According to researchers, Jonathan D. Klein, M.D., and colleagues,
these results are consistent with other studies showing that
adolescents are motivated to stop smoking. The findings of their
own survey, they say, demonstrate the effectiveness of web-based
cessation resources for adolescents who are highly receptive
to messages communicated on the internet. With the tobacco industry
spending nearly $7 billion yearly on advertising, Klein and
colleagues believe that counter-strategies aimed at smoking
cessation must be established. “This is the first report
of a community-based cessation campaign that integrated Web
adjuncts with mass media messages targeting youths.”
The GottaQuit.com media campaign was introduced in January 2001
in Monroe County, New York. The campaign was promoted through
paid advertising on radio, television, billboards and city busses.
In addition to informational content, the GottaQuit.com website
also offered a chat forum for adolescents to speak with a trained
quit coach and former smoker.
The survey was carried out in 3 phases. A pre-campaign telephone
survey was conducted 1 year before GottaQuit.com was launched.
A post-campaign survey was carried out one year after Gotta-Quit.com
was launched to assess demographic information, receptivity
to the media campaign, and degree of media use based on the
amount of time respondents spent listening to the radio, watching
TV or using the internet. Another follow-up survey, the Monroe
County Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS), was carried out in
2003 in 32 schools.
The results for self-reported tobacco use were comparable between
the pre- and post-campaign surveys. Respondents were 14 years
old, on average, when they first began smoking. In both surveys,
respondents currently smoking were significantly more likely
to be older than non-smokers. Most of the current smokers thought
they were addicted to nicotine. Post-campaign results showed
that white teens were more likely to be current smokers than
black teens of teens of other ethnic groups.
Results showed that the majority of smokers wanted to stop smoking
completely (87.3% pre-campaign, and 73.5% post-campaign). Smokers
from the post-campaign survey were more likely to have seriously
tried to quit smoking cigarettes and had tried to quit more
times than pre-campaign smokers. Nearly all of the website users
who reported smoking had visited the GottaQuit.com website.
In the YRBS survey, 11% had visited GottaQuit.com or another
website for help in quitting.
The authors conclude that while research suggests that adolescents
may be in need of cessation interventions, many of them are
not aware of smoking-cessation programs; some of them may also
have concerns regarding issues of confidentiality, fears of
possible parental involvement, or speaking to counselors who
cannot relate to their experiences. A non-judgmental online
resource may be of greater benefit to adolescents who are seeking
help in breaking the habit.
Klein JD, Havens CG, Carlson EJ: Evaluation of an adolescent
smoking-cessation media campaign: GottaQuit.com. Pediatrics
2005; 116(4):950-956.
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The Brown University Child and Adolescent Behavior Letter, December
2005
Reproduced with permission of John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
For subscription information contact John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
at:
111 River St.,Hoboken, NJ 07030-5774 USA
Phone 1-888-378-2537
Fax 1-201-748-8824
E-mail: subinfo@wiley.com.
Related articles
http://www.childresearch.net/RESOURCE/PRESEN/1998/SYMPO/BOARD_E/TUNCERAB.HTM
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