SUPPLEMENT

Is a statewide tobacco quitline an appropriate service for specific populations?

Julie E Maher¹, Kristen Rohde¹, Clyde W Dent¹, Michael J Stark¹, Barbara Pizacani¹, Michael J Boysun², Julia A Dilley¹ and Patricia L Yepassis-Zembrou³

¹ Program Design and Evaluation Services, Multnomah County Health Department and Oregon Department of Human Services, Portland, OR, USA
² Tobacco Prevention and Control Program, Washington State Department of Health, Olympia, Washington, USA
³ Free and Clear, Inc, Seattle, Washington, USA

Correspondence to:
Dr Julie Maher, 800 NE Oregon Street, Suite 550, Portland, OR, 97232, USA; julie.e.maher{at}state.or.us

Objective: To assess whether smoking quit rates and satisfaction with the Washington State tobacco quitline (QL) services varied by race/ethnicity, socioeconomic status, area of residence (that is, urban versus non-urban), or sex of Washington QL callers.

Methods: From October 2004 into October 2005, we conducted telephone surveys of Washington QL callers about three months after their initial call to the QL. Analyses compared 7-day quit rates and satisfaction measures by race/ethnicity, education level, area of residence and sex (using = 0.05).

Results: We surveyed half (n = 1312) of the 2638 adult smokers we attempted to contact. The 7-day quit rate among survey participants at the 3-month follow-up was 31% (CI: 27.1% to 34.2%), 92% (CI: 89.9% to 94.1%) were somewhat/very satisfied overall with the QL programme, 97% (CI: 95.5% to 98.2%) indicated that they would probably/for sure suggest the QL to others and 95% (CI: 92.9% to 96.4%) were somewhat/very satisfied with the QL specialist. Quit rate did not vary significantly by race/ethnicity, education level, area of residence or sex. Satisfaction levels were high across subpopulations. Almost all participants (99%) agreed that they were always treated respectfully during interactions with QL staff.

Conclusions: The Washington QL appeared effective and well received by callers from the specific populations studied. States choosing to promote their QL more aggressively should feel confident that a tobacco QL can be an effective and well received cessation service for smokers who call from a broad range of communities.

Abbreviations: API, Asian or Pacific Islander; BRFSS, Behavioural Risk Factor Surveillance System; NRT, nicotine replacement therapy; QL, quitline; RUCA, rural urban commuting area

Keywords: smoking cessation; hotline; ethnic groups; educational status; rural population

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This article has been cited by other articles:

• Lichtenstein, E. (2007). Quitlines. Tobacco Control 16: i1-i2 [Full Text]