Thoracic Surgeons Use “Teachable Moments” to Help Smokers Quit

July 27, 2010 - A smoking cessation intervention performed by University of Virginia Health System thoracic surgeons has resulted in impressive quit rates. Patient visits to the hospital before and after smoking-related surgery serve as a “teachable moment” for encouraging smokers to quit. Yet, few thoracic surgeons, who often treat smokers for smoking-related illnesses such as lung cancer, emphysema, and coronary artery disease, actually engage in these interventions. At the University of Virginia, thoracic surgeons were trained in smoking cessation counseling and used this training to provide interventions, or “teachable moments,” during pre- and post-surgery office visits.

The practice included questions about smoking status on patient medical records and then using these records, identified patients who smoked (at least 5 cigarettes a week) and who were scheduled for surgery due to a smoking-related illness or those who had a follow-up visit after surgery for a smoking-related illness. Staff then sent a tobacco use survey in the mail to receive more information about the patient’s smoking history. Once in the office, thoracic surgeons assessed the smoker’s intentions to quit and then delivered a brief, ten minute smoking cessation intervention to those smokers who were contemplating quitting or actively trying to quit. The intervention delivered by the thoracic surgeons involved teaching the patients about the benefits of quitting and its ability to reduce post-operative complications, directing patients to a free quitline and teaching patients how to use this resource, and also offering medications to help smokers quit and providing the patients who expressed interest with a prescription.

Results for this program were above-average with thirty-five percent of the forty patients enrolled in the study successfully quitting. Only five percent of smokers were able to quit spontaneously and eleven to eighteen percent of smokers were able to quit after enrolling in other smoking cessation interventions. For those who used medications, half were successful in quitting. All three patients who used the quitline successfully quit smoking. For these reasons, the Agency for Research Healthcare and Quality (AHRQ) gave this innovation a moderate evidence rating.
For more information please visit: http://www.innovations.ahrq.gov/content.aspx?id=2857

National Working Group for ACTTION

Partnership for Prevention

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