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A Smoking‐Cessation Program Consisting of Extensive Counseling, Pharmacotherapy, and Office Spirometry: Results of a Pilot Project in a Veterans Administration Medical Center
Author(s) -
Kennedy Daniel T.,
Paulson Daniel M.,
Eddy Tia D.,
Patel Pinki C.,
Patkar Anuprita D.,
Holdford David A.,
Genina Vera Y.,
Griffin Erin N.
Publication year - 2004
Publication title -
pharmacotherapy: the journal of human pharmacology and drug therapy
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.227
H-Index - 109
eISSN - 1875-9114
pISSN - 0277-0008
DOI - 10.1592/phco.24.14.1400.43153
Subject(s) - medicine , smoking cessation , pharmacotherapy , spirometry , family medicine , physical therapy , population , emergency medicine , psychiatry , environmental health , pathology , asthma
Study Objective. To describe the 1‐year outcomes of a Veterans Administration smoking‐cessation program that demonstrates a standard of care comprising extensive counseling, pharmacotherapy, and office spirometry. Design. Prospective one‐group pretest‐posttest, with an intervention of state‐of‐the‐art practice in smoking cessation. Setting. Outpatient clinic in a Veterans Administration Medical Center (VAMC). Patients. Two hundred fifty‐two veterans receiving health care at the VAMC. Measurements and Main Results. The primary outcome measured was the 1‐year cessation rate of smokers. Demographic and clinical covariates also were collected. Of the 252 patients who enrolled in the program, 120 never quit smoking for even 1 day. Of the remaining 132 patients, 32 (24%) achieved long‐term (1 yr) cessation. The number of visits to the clinic and the number of methods used during the attempt to quit were the only variables significantly associated with long‐term smoking cessation (p<0.0001 for each). Conclusion. The availability of a standard‐of‐practice clinic for smoking cessation within a primary care clinic can help patients who have a desire to quit. A combination of intensive counseling, pharmacotherapy, and office spirometry helped patients in a Veterans Administration population to achieve long‐term smoking cessation.