Tobacco use during pregnancy remains one of Wisconsin’s leading causes of poor birth outcomes. In some communities, up to one in three women smoke during pregnancy.  

To encourage quit-smoking efforts in high-risk families, a Community Impact Grant from the Wisconsin Partnership Program has been awarded to a team led by Michael Fiore, MD, MPH, MBA (pictured at upper right), professor, General Internal Medicine and director of the UW Center for Tobacco Research and Intervention (CTRI) and Bruce Christiansen, PhD (pictured at lower right), senior scientist, General Internal Medicine and CTRI. 

The effort involves partnership with the Wisconsin Women’s Health Foundation (WWHF) to expand tobacco cessation services to high-risk individuals, families and communities across Wisconsin and to seek policy change that will provide sustainable funding for these services. 

The project, called First Breath Families, will facilitate collaboration between local agencies that serve pregnant and postpartum women and their families, provide statewide access to local WWHF Quit Coaches, and develop participant-informed and developed services.

The grant provides $1M over five years. 

Resources: 

• "Wisconsin Partnership Program Awards $4 Million to Target Health Gaps," UW School of Medicine and Public Health, December 14, 2017
• "UW-CTRI to Partner with First Breath Families Program on New Community Impact Grant," UW Center for Tobacco Research and Intervention, January 19, 2018

Photo credit: UW-Madison/Jeff Miller