Publications by authors named "Stephanie Unger"
Background: Health care systems need to reach patients who are smokers and connect them to evidence-based resources that can help them quit. Telehealth, such as an interactive voice response (IVR) system, may be one solution, but there is no roadmap to develop or implement an IVR system within the US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).
Observations: We describe the development and implemention of IVR at the VA Portland Health Care System in Oregon to proactively reach veterans who use tobacco and connect them with cessation resources.
Introduction: We developed Teachable Moment to Opt-Out of Tobacco (TeaM OUT) as a tobacco treatment intervention based on a foundation of a theoretical model of teachable moments, "naturally occurring life transitions or health events thought to motivate individuals to spontaneously adopt risk-reducing health behaviors". The TeaM OUT intervention combines a teachable moment for patients with newly detected incidental pulmonary nodules with a proactive interactive voice response (IVR) system to increase connections to evidence-based tobacco treatment interventions.
Methods: We will perform a convergent, nested observational mixed-methods study utilizing both randomized trial and observational methods to test the effectiveness and generalizability of the TeaM OUT intervention through three aims.