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The VA 1 800 QUIT NOW campaign is a special project within the Veterans Health Administration to promote telephone quitlines as a means of helping veterans stop smoking. This effort is sponsored by the VA Public Health Strategic Health Care Group in partnership with the Smoking Cessation Leadership Center, a national program office of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. It is designed to build on the already significant cessation infrastructure within the VA.
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The Champion Fact sheet, originally developed in partnership with the JCAHO, is intended to address a variety of cessation intervention facts and questions. It includes information on such basic topics as quitlines, and counseling tips, to more detailed information on approaching a patient who doesn’t want to quit or prescribing Nicotine Replacement Therapy.
Given that intervening with a smoking patient can produce bigger health returns than any other intervention, every clinician must view himself or herself as a tobacco interventionist. The gold standard for intervention is the Clinical Practice Guideline, the Ask-Advise-Assess-Assist-Arrange protocol. Every clinician, if possible, should master these steps and lead smoking patients through them. For those who can’t there is the alternative of a brief intervention. Using the Ask Advise Refer method of intervention, this script guides the clinician through the simple step by step intervention process by offering, not only reasons why one should intervene, but also what to say to a patient who smokes.
This presentation discusses an alternative to the clinical practice guidelines 5 A's.
About the Campaign
The VA 1 800 Quit Now campaign is a special
project within the Veterans Health Administration to promote
telephone quitlines as a means of helping veterans stop smoking.
This effort is sponsored by theVA Public Health Strategic
Health Care Group in partnership with the Smoking Cessation
Leadership Center, a national program office of the Robert
Wood Johnson Foundation. It is designed to build on the already
significant cessation infrastructure within the VA.
Quitlines are intended to be an additional
resource to traditional in-person cognitive-behavioral counseling.
Because many veterans live great distances from a VA hospital
or clinic where they receive medical care, patients who would
not otherwise be seen will be able to receive counseling via
the telephone. Additionally, some patients who prefer the
convenience or theanonymity of a telephone-based approach
can receive this free service in the comfort of their own
home.
The VA smoking cessation lead clinicians were
chosen to represent 32 separate facilities for the duration
of this campaign. The method of intervention used is
called Ask. Advise. Refer. It is a straightforward protocol
clinicians can use to help their patients who want to quit
tobacco. They simply ask patients whether they smoke or use
tobacco, advise them to quit, and refer them to 1 800-QUIT
NOW for assistance, including counseling and advice about medications.
Each facility received a three month supply of Quit Now
cards as well as provider
and patient
oriented posters.
The campaign response has been overwhelmingly positive. As a result, 100 of the 158 VA hospitals were able to receive 1 800 QUIT NOW Cards and posters. For additional materials, please order online (Order Form).
For more information please contact Catherine
Saucedo at 415.502.8880 or csaucedo@medicine.ucsf.edu.
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