Improving support for smoking cessation in medical oncology patients: A quality improvement initiative.

Abstract

148 Background: Smoking cessation is integral to cancer care. Active smoking is associated with increased toxicity of treatment, poorer response to therapy and is associated with worse overall survival. Patients who quit smoking at diagnosis have better survival outcomes. Cancer Care Ontario has aimed to improve rates of smoking screening and referral to smoking cessation programs based on the validated Ottawa model. Methods: We aimed to implement an “opt-out” referral process for recent or current smokers to a smoking cessation program at the Credit Valley Hospital. We aimed to achieve a referral rate of 20%, based on an institutional baseline of 8.5% and a provincially defined target of 20%. Key stakeholders targeted included nursing, administration, physicians, smoking cessation counsellors and patients. Sequential education interventions were delivered to address gaps in patient and provider knowledge; these included grand rounds, an informal lecture and an educational pamphlet. Results: After the initiative was launched, the referral rate increased from 8.5% to 14.3%. The impact of each intervention is summarized in Table 1. Conclusions: Smoking cessation referrals increased with new process but not to target. Patient refusals lead to a low rate of referral, warranting efforts aimed at addressing patient barriers. Future outcome measures may include smoking cessation rates. [Table: see text]