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

Introduction: 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.

Methods: 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.

Results: 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.

Conclusions: 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.