Expanding the reach of the Quitline by engaging volunteers to market it in hospitals and shopping venues – a pilot study

摘要

Background In Canada, although there are periodic media campaigns to raise awareness of Quitlines, these services are underused. We sought to determine if a dedicated kiosk, similar to that used in the retail industry but staffed by volunteers trained in smoking cessation techniques, would be effective method to enhance Quitline reach. Methods We located a kiosk in the foyer of two hospitals and in two shopping malls in Edmonton, Canada between Feb/2012 and July/2014. The cessation intervention was based on the 5 A's approach. Outcome was assessed by number of visits to the kiosk and referral rates to the Quitline. A cross sectional survey among small sample of visitors was used for evaluation. Descriptive statistics were used to summarize visitors’ data. Results Of 1091 kiosk visitors, 53.3?% were current smokers, of whom 93.3?% indicated a willingness to quit. Of these, 32.1?% requested a Quitline referral at the time of the kiosk visit. Referral requests to the Quitline were greater when the kiosk was located in the non-hospital setting 39.1?% compared to 31.1?% in hospitals (P?=?0.2). Referrals from the kiosk represented 6?% of total referrals received by the provincial Quitline during the study period. Following referral the Quitline was able to reach 50?% of those referred, of those, 17?% refused to proceed. At seven month follow up 30?day abstinence rate was 3.8?% of smokers who wished quit. Visitors agreed that the kiosk design was interesting (89.3?%) and increased their knowledge about tobacco and cessation options (88.8?%) and encouraged them to take action to quit (85.7?%). Conclusions A “volunteer manned kiosk” can increase awareness of smoking cessation resources in the community and increase referral rates to Quitline services.