Community experience with a cancer survivor smoking cessation program.

Abstract

182 Background: In 2014, GHS began a smoking cessation program for cancer survivors staffed by nurse practitioners and nurse navigators who are certified smoking cessation providers. The program is four scripted visits plus telephone support. Patients learn to become smoke-free by nicotine weaning and replacement, medication management, and integrative coping skills such as hypnosis. The purpose of this descriptive analysis is 1) to determine program smoking cessation rates and 2) to profile patients who completed the program successfully (nonsmoker status). Methods: Patient records from the first 12 months were mined for the following variables: demographics, primary insurance type, primary diagnosis, number of visits, number of cigarettes smoked per day at enrollment, alcohol use, and depression. Data was analyzed using Stata13. The GHS IRB approved the study. Results: Of the 143 patients referred to CIOS for smoking cessation during the first year, 70 (49%) enrolled in the program. 29 (20%) patients completed the program, and 11 (8%) others are in the process of completing the program. 23 (79%) of the 29 completers achieved non-smoker status at the time of program completion. Two months after program completion, only two nonsmoking completers reverted to smoking status. When stratifying completers by key demographic, clinical, and behavioral characteristics, the most successful were females (93% vs. 67% for males), Caucasians (82% vs. 71% for African-Americans), married individuals (100% success rate for married vs. 50% for divorced), and those with private insurance (100% vs. 79% Medicare and 67% Medicaid). Logistic regression did not reveal an increased probability of smoking cessation success with any of the key independent variables. Conclusions: This smoking cessation program using nicotine weaning and replacement, medication management, and integrative coping skills in a cancer survivor population has an encouraging success rate for those who complete the four-visit program. The relative success of married persons and females warrants further study as do the low enrollment rate of those referred, the low completion rate of those enrolled, and the continuing nonsmoking success rates for completers.