Patient Cessation Activity after Automatic Referral to a Dedicated Cessation Support Service

We characterized tobacco use, cessation patterns, and patient satisfaction with a cessation support program at an NCI Designated Comprehensive Cancer Center following a mandatory tobacco assessment and automatic referral.

A 3-month follow-up survey (via web, paper, or telephone) was administered between March 2013 and November 2013 for all patients referred to and contacted by a cessation support service, and who consented to participation three months prior to administration. Patients were asked about their perceived importance and self-efficacy to quit smoking, quit attempts, and satisfaction with the cessation service.

Fifty-two percent (257/499) of patients who participated in the cessation support service, and consented to be contacted again, completed a follow-up survey. Of those who participated, 9.7% were referred to the service as having recently quit tobacco (in the past 30 days) and 23.6% reported having quit at the time of first contact. At the 3-month follow-up, 48.1% reported being smoke-free for the previous seven days. When patients were asked about their experience with the cessation service, 86.4% reported being very or mostly satisfied with the service, and 64.3% reported that their experience with the service increased their satisfaction with the care received at the cancer centre.

Our findings suggest that recently diagnosed cancer patients are aware that quitting tobacco is important, are making attempts to quit, and are amenable to an opt-out automatic referral cessation support service as part of their cancer care.