Quitline Use in Surgical Patients

Elective surgery represents a teachable moment to deliver tobacco interventions. The overall goal of this proposal is to increase the utilization of the QUITPLANSM Helpline by surgical patients who smoke. Two specific aims will be pursued using a multidisciplinary research team. In the first aim, we will develop a practice-based intervention to promote QUITPLANSM Helpline utilization by surgical patients (Specific Aim 1A) using a combination of key informant interviews (approximately 30 subjects), and focus groups (approximately 25 subjects) then develop methods to educate providers in its implementation (Specific Aim 1B) and test their effectiveness in approximately 20 providers. In the second aim, we will perform a randomized clinical trial of this intervention in 300 patients scheduled for elective surgery, with the primary outcome being utilization of the QUITPLANSM Helpline (Specific Aim 2). Subjects will be randomized to receive either the intervention developed in Specific Aim 1, or a brief control intervention.