A grant collaboration between Alere Wellbeing, Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) and University of Pittsburgh (UPITT), was funded by NHLBI in early March. The study team, led by principal investigators Drs. Nancy Rigotti of MGH and Hilary Tindle of UPITT, will test an evidence-based, cost-effective intervention that can be disseminated widely to U.S. hospitals. This project aims to use an innovative strategy to streamline the delivery and maximize the uptake of evidence-based tobacco dependence treatment for 3 months after discharge. The study will enroll 1350 adult smokers admitted to three acute care general hospitals in Massachusetts and Pennsylvania.  All participants will receive the same in-hospital smoking intervention. At discharge, participants will be randomized to Extended Care (free medication for 90 days & IVR Triage to telephone counseling) or Standard Care (recommend medication and refer to the state tobacco quitline for counseling). The study outcomes will be assessed at 1, 3, 6, and 12 months after hospital discharge.  The telephone counseling will be provided by Alere Wellbeing. Drs. Kelly Carpenter and Susan Zbikowski (from Alere Wellbeing’s Research Program) are co-investigators.

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A pilot study was conducted to examine the feasibility of, and outcomes associated with, online surveys. Online surveys were offered to 1,407 Commercial Quit for Life™ participants (online surveys first, follow-up survey calls to those who did not complete online surveys). Over 14% of participants responded to the online survey, representing a cost savings by reducing phone-follow-up efforts. The pilot group’s overall response rate (combined response rate for online and phone surveys completed) improved by 15% compared to the response rate for a comparison group that was only offered phone surveys. Within the pilot group, 30-day quit rates among online survey respondents were 62% higher than among phone survey respondents, but other outcome measures were comparable between the two groups. Regardless of how participants completed the survey, the majority said they preferred online surveys, and online survey respondents reported that they were not likely to have completed the survey by phone if that had been their only option. This pilot suggests that online surveys improve overall survey response rates, reach participants unlikely to respond to phone surveys, and improve data collection and outcomes reporting.

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Training Services is pleased to announce the kick-off of two new online training projects aimed at increasing tobacco treatment and ultimately help to increase the quit attempts among individuals served by the tobacco prevention, cessation and control programs in each of these States.

The Iowa Tobacco Prevention Control Program is focused on improving hospital-based providers’ referrals of patients to cessation treatment before they leave the hospital. We are designing a self-guided online training with tracks tailored to different professional categories (e.g., physicians, nursing staff and allied health professionals). This training is expected to launch in September, 2012.

The New Mexico Tobacco Use Prevention and Control Program has commissioned an online training for healthcare professionals to address the diverse population of New Mexico and unique cultural uses of tobacco use with this population (e.g., ceremonial use of tobacco among American Indians).  The online training, which is expected to launch in January 2013, is designed for all types of providers across the State, particularly those serving disparate populations.

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