Vaping Education in Australian High Schools: A Quality Improvement Project

Abstract

The reduction and cessation of vaping for young people is a global health priority, however the operationalization of guidelines into school programs is challenging. The focus of this quality improvement project was to utilize the plan-do-study-act framework and Social Cognitive Theory to support vaping cessation in Australian secondary schools. Ten school nurses led a program across 12 schools and supported 86 young people to grow knowledge and skills to reduce vaping. At baseline, most young people had self-reported that they had vaped for over a year (n = 61; 70.9%) and were aware of associated harms. Immediately post-program, 34.1% (n = 29) intended to change behavior, and at 4-week follow-up, 61% (n = 22) reported behavior change. All school staff valued and supported the program, with key benefits of professional health education delivery by a known nurse and improved health literacy, and barriers of student absences and scheduling conflicts.