The Wisconsin Tobacco Quit Line's Fax to Quit program: participant satisfaction and effectiveness

The purpose of this study was to assess the Wisconsin Tobacco Quit Line's (WTQL) clinic-based Fax to Quit (FTQ) provider referral program in terms of participant satisfaction and short-term quit outcomes, and to compare those findings to a non-FTQ provider referral group.

A sample of 432 WTQL callers completed a telephone survey approximately 3 months after they received WTQL services. Of these, 265 contacted the WTQL based on a clinic referral and served as the basis for analyses. Of these 265, 158 FTQ respondents were compared to 107 non-FTQ respondents in terms of satisfaction with the WTQL as well as quit attempts and tobacco abstinence.

Overall, survey respondents reported high levels of satisfaction with the WTQL (FTQ = 96.8%, non-FTQ = 92.7%). Other measures of satisfaction (cultural sensitivity, respondent needs and concerns understood) showed similarly high levels of respondent satisfaction for both groups. FTQ respondents reported a statistically significantly higher 30-day abstinence rate (46.8%) compared to non-FTQ respondents (32.7%).

Participants expressed high levels of satisfaction with WTQL services and demonstrated high short-term quit rates. FTQ-referred WTQL users reported higher rates of tobacco cessation than non-FTQ-referred WTQL users. These findings suggest that fax referral has potential to successfully link smokers visiting primary care clinics to the WTQL, an evidence-based cessation option.