ATTAC–IT (AHEC Tobacco Training and Cessation-Initial Training)
The ATTAC-IT Program is a component of the overall UF AHEC Tobacco Training and Cessation (ATTAC) Program. UF AHEC is part of a statewide Network of AHECs funded to provide tobacco training and cessation throughout the state of Florida. The overall goal of the ATTAC Program is to strengthen the capacity of Florida’s healthcare system to deliver effective evidence-based tobacco use treatment, cessation, and prevention services throughout the state. This is done in keeping with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Best Practices for Comprehensive Tobacco Control Programs.
ATTAC-IT’s goal is to ensure that all health professions students (HPS) receive tobacco education during the course of their program, providing them with the skills necessary to work with patients and clients in tobacco cessation. HPS are targeted because most healthcare providers traditionally receive insufficient education in tobacco to be able to effect patient behavior change in the treatment of tobacco dependence. The ATTAC-IT Afternoon of Learning is an annual interprofessional learning event for first-year HPS and typically occurs within the first few weeks of the students beginning their health professions’ programs. This training session focuses on the science, epidemiology, and treatment of tobacco addiction and dependence. Students will also receive an introduction to motivational interviewing techniques and participate in small-group cooperative learning activities. Combining a mix of Medical, Dental, Nursing, Pharmacy, Physician Assistant, Public Health, and other HPS where possible, lends strength both to the academic program and future bridging of gaps between healthcare disciplines. The skills learned in the session can also be applied to other areas of health risk behaviors.
Since 2007, the UF AHEC Program has trained over 10,000 health professions students in treating tobacco dependence through the ATTAC-IT Program. Funding for the Afternoon of Learning is provided through the Florida Department of Health as part of Florida’s Comprehensive Tobacco Control Program.
For more information on the ATTAC-IT Program, or if you are a teacher who would like to host a team of health professions students, please contact:
Alice Maffei, MS, CTTS, CHES
Education and Training Specialist
maffei.a@ahec.ufl.edu
352-273-8530