Assessment of Tobacco Use Among Mississippi Community Health Center Patients

Audience: Health professionals interested in working with community health centers (CHC) to incorporate evidence-based best practices for treating tobacco use.

Key Points: The purpose of this session is to present a study conducted to measure the prevalence of tobacco use among adult CHC patients in order to inform and modify clinical-based interventions.  Data gathered from 2,518 adults included basic demographic information, health insurance status, and status of individual tobacco use.  Findings indicate a higher prevalence of smoking among adult CHC patients in Mississippi (38.1%), compared to both state (22.9%) and national (17.9%) averages. Over 50% of surveyed smokers indicated interest or willingness to engage in cessation efforts within the next 6 months. Because tobacco users in this study were fairly evenly distributed between gender, ethnicity, and insurance coverage, the authors are hopeful that CHC will make conscientious efforts to counsel every tobacco user regarding the benefits of cessation.  Tobacco control interventions are currently being implemented in CHC and if successful, will ultimately impact prevalence outcomes to improve the health of at-risk populations in Mississippi.

Educational Experience: The presenter will provide the study methods, principal findings, and conclusions from the research effort.  By the end of the session, the audience will be able to utilize the information to inform and modify clinical-based interventions for treating tobacco use.

Benefits: Other states may benefit from the data contained in this study as they work to coordinate CHC tobacco control interventions.  Cessation efforts can cause dramatic improvements in both individual and population health status.