Tobacco Update: Scientific Advances, Clinical PerspectivesQuitlines in North America: Evidence Base and Applications
Section snippets
Goals
Quitlines can have the greatest potential impact when used as part of a comprehensive tobacco control effort. Within this context, quitlines can have 2 primary goals to maximize their public health influence. First, quitlines can provide direct service to help smokers quit. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) estimates that only 2.5% of smokers quit permanently each year4; similar figures have also been reported for the United Kingdom.5 These rates suggest that there is considerable
The Role of Promotion
Research has clearly demonstrated that broad community-based promotion increases quitline utilization.8., 9., 10., 11., 12. For example, Ossip-Klein et al8 demonstrated that free television, radio, and newspaper promotions tripled call rates compared with promotion through smoking cessation settings alone. Quitlines can be promoted through multiple channels, including direct media promotion, tagging the quitline number to media antismoking campaigns, health care providers, health systems, work
Evidence Base
Three meta-analyses support the efficacy of proactive telecounseling.1., 2., 3. For example, Lichtenstein et al1 conducted a meta-analysis of 13 studies of proactive calls and found an overall intervention effect at both short- and long-term follow-ups (odds ratio, 1.20–1.34). In addition, the real-world effectiveness of proactive calls has recently been demonstrated using an innovative methodological approach to a natural experiment in California.20
Variability has been found in results for
Future Directions
Quitlines provide an infrastructure for the translation of evidence-based interventions into public health applications. A “critical mass” of quitlines has been achieved through state, health system, and national efforts, and the field is continuing to grow both nationally and globally. The field is sufficiently established that a number of groups nationally are critically examining how to best move the agenda forward to maximize the reach and effectiveness of quitlines and to identify and
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Cited by (141)
Designing for Sustainability: An Approach to Integrating Staff Role Changes and Electronic Health Record Functionality Within Safety-Net Clinics to Address Provision of Tobacco Cessation Care
2019, Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Patient SafetyLong-term Quit Rates in Fax-Referred as Compared to Self-Referred Tobacco Quitline Registrants
2017, American Journal of Preventive MedicineWarm Handoff Versus Fax Referral for Linking Hospitalized Smokers to Quitlines
2016, American Journal of Preventive MedicineCitation Excerpt :Quitlines are available—free of charge—in a number of countries throughout the world.10,11 Quitlines are effective and cost effective for smoking cessation,12–14 accessible for smokers with telephones, and are undersubscribed and eager to increase their reach.15,16 A number of U.S. hospitals have begun referring smokers to quitlines via fax referral.17–19
Participant-level meta-analysis of mobile phone-based interventions for smoking cessation across different countries
2016, Preventive MedicineCitation Excerpt :Participants received program messages most frequently during the first four weeks following the quit day, which then reduced in frequency and intensity for the rest of the intervention period. All were based on known effective cessation techniques (e.g., setting a quit day) and, to some degree, behavior change theories, including cognitive behavioral therapy (Fiore et al., 2008; Ossip-Klein and McIntosh, 2003; Lancaster et al., 2000; Lichtenstein et al., 1996; Wadland et al., 1999; Wadland et al., 2001). Points of difference include: the degree and methods for personalization and tailoring of the interventions, with Text2Quit being the most highly personalized program (e.g., messages include participant's first name, quit date, their top three reasons for quitting, money saved by quitting (Whittaker et al., 2009)); the frequency and scheduling of messages, although all start prior to the scheduled quit day; and the inclusion of a relapse program, with the exception of STOMP.
Enrolling Smokers from Health Systems into Quitline Services: 'Results of two enrollment strategies'
2016, Journal of Smoking Cessation
Preparation of this manuscript was supported in part by National Cancer Institute Grants R01-CA80283 and R01-CA67594 (to djo-k).