Learning Objectives: Recognize how health care provider asking about smoking status and assessing interest in quitting can impact the patient’s taking action to set a quit smoking date.
Abstract:
Problem/Objective:Health care providers have opportunities to intervene with smoking patients.
Methods:All patients exiting from a visit in one of 87 primary care practices were given a survey assessing smoking status, basic demographic information, and provider use of brief advice (i.e. 5 A’s) for smoking cessation.
Results:1992 surveys were completed (RR=62%). 371 (19%) were smokers. Not asking about smoking status at that visit was reported by 66% of nonsmokers and 41% of smokers (p<0.0001). There were three categories of readiness to quit smoking: those 1) seriously considering quitting in next month (39%), 2) in next 6 months (42%), and 3) not seriously considering quitting in next 6 months (19%). Twenty-six percent of smokers agreed to make a quit attempt, which was significant by stage of readiness (p<0.0001). Those in group 1 were 27 times more likely and those in group 2 were almost 7 times more likely to agree to quit than those in group 3 (no plans group). While controlling for readiness to change, those asked about smoking status were still 5 times more likely and those asked of an interest in quitting were 12 times more likely to set a quit date than those not asked. Advice to quit was not related to setting a quit date.
Conclusions:In this study, 80% of smokers in the primary care setting are seriously considering quitting, yet only 59% are asked about smoking status. Asking is highly associated with making a quit attempt, thus there are many missed opportunities for smoking cessation intervention.
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