PEC Innovation · 4 authors, 2 centres
This summary was generated by AI from a single paper. It has not been reviewed by a clinician and is not clinical advice. Verify against the source before acting on it.
A mixed-methods pilot study surveyed 50 college health providers at 26 SUNY campuses to assess their knowledge and confidence in discussing vaping with students. The study found that while providers reported high knowledge and confidence, many lacked formal training and often did not know what products students were vaping.
This mixed-methods descriptive study used a sequential-explanatory approach, combining a cross-sectional online survey (N=50) with semi-structured interviews (N=11) with college health providers across 26 SUNY campuses. The central result was that providers self-reported high levels of knowledge and confidence in addressing e-cigarette use, but fewer than half had participated in vaping-specific educational activities, and many could not distinguish whether students vaped nicotine or cannabis. The authors concluded there is a potential disconnect between perceived and actual knowledge, highlighting training needs. Limitations included the pilot nature of the study, potential generalizability constraints, and the influence of the concurrent EVALI and COVID-19 outbreaks on data collection. The findings suggest opportunities to provide targeted educational interventions to improve providers' ability to comprehensively address vaping.
