Who Quits and What Works: Massachusetts Quitline Usage and Effectiveness

Audience:

Quitline vendors and state-level tobacco control programs interested in systematically evaluating their quitline services.

Key Points:

Between April 2008 and April 2011, Massachusetts Smokers’ Helpline serviced over 31,000 clients who either were referred by their provider via Quitworks, the electronic/fax-referral system, or called the quitline on their own. Among those who could be reached for a follow-up 6 months later, we found an overall quit rate (those who reported quit for >30 days) of approximately 20%. Our analysis seeks to identify which factors (client demographics, smoking behavior, quitline service utilized) are most predictive of cessation outcome (quit status, days quit). Specifically, we want to answer the following questions:

1) Adjusting for client smoking behavior and client demographics, how well does each of the quitline services – self-help material, up to 5 counseling sessions, 2 weeks of NRT use – predict cessation outcomes?

2) Looking specifically at NRT, did the introduction of a 2-week supply of NRT impact usage of other quitline services and cessation outcomes?

The evidence we generate on who quits and what services are effective will help guide future programmatic focus and resource allocations.

Educational Experience:

Participants will learn to systematically analyze and interpret quitline data and apply evidence to make informed programmatic decisions. 

Benefits:

The presentation will provide insight into:

1)      Using quitline data to determine “profile of a successful quitter” and evaluate the effectiveness of each service.

2)      Evaluation methodology (variable selection, model fitting, etc)

3)      Applying results to inform future decisions.