Problem/Objective: Quitlines are effective at delivering cessation support to large numbers of smokers. Most offer reactive and proactive services, however operational costs are a major impediment to the growth of Quitline services. In particular, proactive callbacks are laborious, often taking multiple calls to reach clients. This poster will present results of a study in which Interactive Voice Response (IVR) technology was tested as a means to improve cost-effectiveness. The evaluation objectives will 1) see if IVR improves the efficiency of reaching clients; and 2) assess reactions to IVR including service satisfaction and cessation outcomes.

Methods: The study will be conducted with 4000 smokers seeking assistance from the NYS Quitline between March and July 2007. Eligibility includes “interested in quitting” and “received nicotine patches”. Half will be randomly assigned the IVR callback and half the standard service in which a Quitline specialist attempts to re-contact the client. A random sample in each group will be contacted at 3 months to assess smoking status and utilization of quit methods. We will also compare callback completion rates and cost per completed callback. It is hypothesized that the IVR system will be more cost efficient than standard service without adversely impacting client satisfaction and smoking outcomes.

Results: Accrual begins March 2007 and will be completed July 2007. The study data will be available to present at the Conference in October.

Conclusions: The study results should be of interest to those involved in financing Quitlines as IVR technology can improve the efficiency of services.