Introduction: To increase the use of quitlines for treating tobacco use and dependence, quitline referral interventions are recommended for healthcare systems and providers. Research is limited as to whether fax-referred smokers have quit outcomes similar to those of traditional self-callers to quitlines.

Methods: Oklahoma Tobacco Helpline registration data from March 2013 to October 2014 and 7-month follow-up data were used to compare hospital- and clinic-based fax-referred registrants (n=537) to self-callers (n=2,577). Contingency table chi-square tests and relative risks were used to identify differences in 30-day point prevalence abstinence at 7-month follow-up. Two-sided p-values <0.05 were considered statistically significant. Analyses were conducted in 2015.

Results: Fax-referred registrants versus self-callers were significantly more likely to be older (49.4 vs 47.6 years), white (70.6% vs 59.1%), non-Hispanic (96.8% vs 94.2%), and to have smoked fewer than one pack of cigarettes per day (54.0% vs 44.9%). Self-callers versus fax-referred registrants were significantly more likely to be uninsured (36.5% vs 29.4%) and have received nicotine-replacement therapy from the Helpline (92.3% vs 79.9%). At 7-month follow-up, a similar proportion of fax-referred registrants reported not using tobacco in the past 30 days as compared to self-callers (29.3% vs 31.8%, p=0.2945).

Conclusions: Although differences in sociodemographics, tobacco use behavior, and Helpline services were observed between fax-referred registrants and self-callers, quit outcomes at follow-up did not differ. This observational study has important implications for tobacco control initiatives as it shows patients fax-referred by hospitals and clinics to quitlines may be as successful as self-callers in quitting smoking.

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Source
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2016.11.006DOI Listing

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