Grant: Planning and Dissemination Grant - Institute Community Support

Background: In Ontario, more than one in ten pregnant women smoke. The use of tobacco products during pregnancy carries many health risks for both the baby and mother, including several types of cancer. During pregnancy, women are highly motivated to stop smoking and look for support throughout the quitting process. If women are able to quit smoking, they reduce many health risks for them and the baby. Despite their efforts to quit smoking, many pregnant smokers do not access public health resources for assistance because of a lack of knowledge of supports available and due to the stigma, shame and guilt associated with smoking. To support the quitting process, Center for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) created Prevention of Gestational and Neonatal Exposure to Tobacco Smoke (Pregnets) website, which provides information on pre- and post-natal smoking for healthcare providers and women. The website was evaluated and found to be useful for both women and providers. Unfortunately, this useful resource is not well known to either user group. Strategy: CAMH in partnership with the Ontario Women's Health Networkwants to secure funding to: 1.Reach a minimum of 400 healthcare providers across Ontario to raise awareness of Pregnets as a tool to help inform their practice and provide Pregnets promotional material to providers for their clients. 2.Engage with pregnant women experiencing the benefits and challenges of quitting smoking to share their experiences online via a blog Tactics: Training and promotion for providers will take place through webinars, listservs and online tools. Women in the at-risk population will be engaged through online forums. Impact: By encouraging women and healthcare providers to adopt best practices for smoking cessation, Pregnets has the potential to reduce the prevalence of smoking among pregnant women and promote health and reduce healthcare costs across Ontario.