(1092) Adolescent Perspectives on the Pharmacist-led Teen E-cigarette and Vaping Educational Resource (T-EVER) and Its Potential Impact on Youth Vaping

Objectives: ELECTRONIC CIGARETTES (E-CIGARETTES) ARE DANGEROUS TOBACCO PRODUCTS THAT POSE GREAT RISK TO ADOLESCENTS WHO ARE STILL UNDERGOING PHYSICAL AND MENTAL DEVELOPMENT. INCONSISTENT EDUCATION ON THE DANGERS OF E-CIGARETTE USE AMONG ADOLESCENTS IS LIMITING VAPING PREVENTION AND CESSATION EFFORTS. PHARMACISTS CAN PROVIDE RELIABLE AND ACCESSIBLE EDUCATION ON E-CIGARETTES WITHIN THEIR COMMUNITIES TO PROTECT ADOLESCENTS FROM VAPING. From previous studies, the investigators developed the Teen E-cigarette and Vaping Educational Resource (T-EVER), which is a PHARMACIST-PROVIDED educational infographic on VAPING WITH CESSATION OPTIONS AND A LINK TO ADDITIONAL resources for ADOLESCENTS. THIS STUDY QUALITATIVELY EXAMINED ADOLESCENT PERSPECTIVES ON THE CONTENT AND IMPLEMENTATION OF THE T-EVER AS WELL AS THE PHARMACIST’S ROLE IN ADOLESCENT VAPING EDUCATION AND PREVENTION.

Methods: FROM JANUARY TO MAY 2023, adolescents were recruited to participate in A PRE-POST SURVEY AND INTERVIEW THROUGH RECRUITMENT FLYERS DISTRIBUTED AT TWELVE WISCONSIN COMMUNITY PHARMACIES AND RECRUITMENT EMAILS SENT VIA EMAIL NEWSLETTERS BY TWO OF THOSE PHARMACIES. A RESEARCH TEAM MEMBER DISTRIBUTED FLYERS IN PERSON TO PARENTS OF POTENTIALLY ELIGIBLE PARTICIPANTS AT THREE OF THE PHARMACIES FOR 1-2 WEEKS EACH, AND PHARMACY TEAM EMPLOYEES DISTRIBUTED FLYERS SIMILARLY AT ALL PHARMACIES. Eligible participants were adolescents aged 12 to 18 years with English fluency and access to a computer or mobile device with internet. RECRUITMENT FLYERS AND EMAILS LINKED POTENTIAL PARTICIPANTS TO A QUALTRICS SURVEY FOR THEIR PARENTS TO PROVIDE AN EMAIL ADDRESS IF INTERESTED IN PARTICIPATING. A RESEARCH TEAM MEMBER WOULD EMAIL THE PARENTS ANOTHER QUALTRICS SURVEY WITH PARENTAL CONSENT AND ADOLESCENT ASSENT FORMS AND SCHEDULE A TIME FOR THE VIRTUAL STUDY SESSION VIA ZOOM VIDEO COMMUNICATIONS. DURING EACH STUDY SESSION, PARTICIPANTS COMPLETED A PRE-POST SURVEY, WERE ASKED TO REVIEW THE T-EVER, AND WERE INTERVIEWED ON T-EVER CONTENT, DISSEMINATION BY COMMUNITY PHARMACIES, AND THE ROLE OF PHARMACISTS IN ADDRESSING ADOLESCENT VAPING. Interviews were recorded, transcribed verbatim, and QUALITATIVELY analyzed with NVivo 14 software. An inductive approach to content and thematic analysis was applied to generate the most prevalent themes from the data. SURVEY DATA FINDINGS WILL BE REPORTED SEPARATELY.

Results: Thirty-five adolescents (54.3% middle school age, 48.6% female, 74.3% white, 22.9% multiple racial and ethnic identities, MEAN AGE 14.4 YEARS) were interviewed. Participants perceived the T-EVER to BE WELL-DESIGNED WITH valuable AND UNDERSTANDABLE information on e-cigarettes that would be beneficial to adolescents. SOME BARRIERS TO IMPLEMENTING AN ADOLESCENT-TARGETED EDUCATIONAL PHARMACY INTERVENTION ON E-CIGARETTES WERE ADOLESCENTS’ INFREQUENT VISITS TO PHARMACIES, LACK OF ADMISSION TO VAPING, PARENTAL PERSONAL E-CIGARETTE USE, AND LACK OF TIME FOR EDUCATION. HOWEVER, ADOLESCENT PARTICIPANTS BROADLY AGREED THAT THERE WAS A NEED FOR MORE PREVENTION AND EDUCATION AS THEY IDENTIFIED UNDERAGE E-CIGARETTE USE TO BE HIGHLY ADDICTIVE AND DANGEROUS, CREATING LASTING EFFECTS FOR ADOLESCENTS INTO ADULTHOOD. PARTICIPANTS BELIEVED THE T-EVER SHOULD BE DELIVERED IN A DIGITAL FORMAT AND AVAILABLE IN VARIOUS PUBLIC MEDICAL SETTINGS, SUCH AS PHARMACIES AND DOCTOR’S OFFICES. AN AREA OF IMPROVEMENT FOR THE T-EVER WAS TO PROVIDE ADDITIONAL DETAIL ABOUT E-CIGARETTES AND THEIR ACCESSIBILITY AMONG ADOLESCENT POPULATIONS. ADDITIONAL METHODS OF DISSEMINATING VAPING EDUCATION TO ADOLESCENTS INCLUDE EDUCATIONAL POSTERS IN THE PHARMACY AND PRESCRIPTION BAG HANDOUTS FROM PHARMACISTS, WHO WERE CONSIDERED TRUSTED MEDICAL PROFESSIONALS WITHIN THE COMMUNITY BY PARTICIPANTS.

Conclusions: INTEGRATING IMPLEMENTATION OF THE T-EVER INTO COMMUNITY PHARMACIES CAN HELP DISSEMINATE IMPORTANT EDUCATION ON E-CIGARETTES AND VAPING TO ADOLESCENTS. Using the T-EVER as an educational tool in a pharmacy-based intervention can serve as a preventable measure for adolescents by providing access TO EVIDENCE OF VAPING CONSEQUENCES AND CESSATION RESOURCES. FINDINGS FROM THE QUALITATIVE STUDY ON ADOLESCENT PERSPECTIVES ON THE T-EVER CAN PROVIDE THE FOUNDATION FOR FUTURE PHARMACIST-LED ADOLESCENT E-CIGARETTE EDUCATIONAL INITIATIVES AND INTERVENTIONS.