A Qualitative Exploration of Quitline Perceptions among African American and Hispanic or Latino Adults Who Smoke

Tobacco quitlines are efficacious, accessible, and cost-effective. While the prevalence of cigarette smoking remains higher among non-Hispanic White adults, the quit ratio has remained lower for African American (AA) and Hispanic or Latino (H/L) adults who smoke. The National Jewish Health Quitline (NJH QL) has sought to address whether current QL services provide effective and equitable tobacco cessation services. This study evaluated the experiences and perceptions of QL services among AA and H/L adults who smoke.

Our team recruited adults who smoke for a qualitative study from July 2021 through October 2021 who had or had not engaged with QL services across 9 states. NJH QL clients shared their perceptions of QL services and experiences with quitting smoking; non-users of QL services shared in-depth responses on their knowledge, perceptions, and barriers to using a telephone QL service. Interviews were recorded, transcribed, and coded to identify key themes. Inter-coder reliability was calculated, and agreement (kappa > .80) was achieved.

Fifty-four eligible participants were recruited and thirty-five (64.8%) participants (21 AA, 14 H/L) across 5 states completed an interview. Themes included an awareness of media campaigns, importance of enthusiastic support from coaches, uncertainty about the effectiveness of QLs, appreciation of free nicotine replacement therapy and clear instructions for use, and an interest in tailored advertising and counseling by race or ethnicity matched coaches.

The findings suggest that QL use among AA and H/L adults with historically low quit rates could be improved with tailored advertising and treatment conducted by enthusiastic and demographically matched coaches.