Improving delivery of smoking cessation assistance for patients with cancer: Results of the Beyond ASK quality improvement.

Authors

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Timothy W. Mullett

Department of Surgery, University of Kentucky College of Medicine, Lexington, KY

Timothy W. Mullett , Jessica L Burris , Eileen M Reilly , Rachel C Shelton , Graham W. Warren , Jamie S. Ostroff

Organizations

Department of Surgery, University of Kentucky College of Medicine, Lexington, KY, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, American College of Surgeons, Chicago, IL, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, NY, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY

Research Funding

University of Wisconsin Center for Tobacco Research and Intervention

Background: Smoking by cancer patients and survivors causes adverse health outcomes, and quitting smoking after a cancer diagnosis can improve survival. However, assistance with smoking cessation is not regularly provided to cancer patients. Reported are results of the national 2023 Beyond ASK quality improvement initiative to increase and sustain delivery of smoking cessation assistance across participating sites. Methods: In 2023, American College of Surgeons Commission on Cancer (CoC) accredited sites were invited to participate in the Beyond ASK quality improvement initiative to increase evidence-based smoking cessation assistance delivery to cancer patients who report current smoking. Participating sites were required to monitor and periodically report on provider performance (e.g., assist rate = number of patients assisted with smoking cessation / number of patients who smoke), resource utilization, barriers, and facilitators. Educational resources, webinars, toolkits, and online data collection were facilitated by CoC. Results: Among 306 participating programs who completed the Beyond ASK initiative (94% of baseline programs), high rates of asking patients about and documenting smoking status were maintained at 88-92% from the baseline to final survey. During the 12-month project period, overall rates of assisting with smoking cessation increased from 53% to 67%. Referral to state quitlines increased from 31% to 49%, and referral to ‘in house’ smoking cessation programs increased from 15% to 28%. Rates of providing brief in office counseling more than tripled from 20% at baseline to 66% at final. The most frequently reported components that contributed to programs’ success were educational webinars (30.6%), structured data collection (28.2%), and smoking cessation toolkit (21.2%). The leading logistical barriers were extracting clinical data from the EHR and making changes to the clinical workflow, reported by 36.5% and 28.2% of respondents, respectively. Overall, 95.3% of respondents “agreed” or “strongly agreed” that identifying patients who smoke and assisting patients with cessation was sustainable. Conclusions: Increasing smoking cessation assistance through a national accreditation organization is feasible with substantial improvements in assisting patients. Results support delivery of smoking cessation as an achievable national quality component of cancer care.

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Abstract Details

Meeting

2024 ASCO Annual Meeting

Session Type

Rapid Oral Abstract Session

Session Title

Quality Care/Health Services Research

Track

Care Delivery and Quality Care

Sub Track

Quality Improvement

Citation

J Clin Oncol 42, 2024 (suppl 16; abstr 11011)

DOI

10.1200/JCO.2024.42.16_suppl.11011

Abstract #

11011

Abstract Disclosures

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