Abstract A032: Quitline treatment enrollment, dose, and cessation outcomes among safety net patients linked with treatment via Ask-Advise-Connect: Differential efficacy among Spanish- vs. English-speaking smokers
Authors: Piñeiro Bárbara , Vidrine Damon J. , Wetter David W. , Hoover Diana S. , Frank-Pearce Summer , Nguyen Nga , Zbikowski Susan M. , Vidrine Jennifer I. 
Published: August 2020

Most quitlines offer treatment in Spanish. However, little is known about the long-term efficacy of quitline-delivered treatment among Spanish-speaking smokers. This study is a secondary analysis of a 34-month implementation trial evaluating Ask-Advise-Connect (AAC)—an electronic health record (EHR)-based approach designed to facilitate enrollment in quitline-delivered treatment—in 13 community clinics serving low-income, racially/ethnically diverse patients in Houston, TX. Our goal was to compare treatment engagement, counseling dose received, and smoking abstinence among individuals who received treatment in Spanish versus English. Clinic staff were trained to Ask all patients about their smoking status, Advise all smokers to quit, and offer to immediately Connect smokers with treatment through a link within the EHR. Quitline treatment consisted of up to 5 proactive counseling calls. Outcomes included treatment engagement (i.e., enrollment in treatment), treatment dose (i.e., number of counseling calls completed), and biochemically confirmed, self-reported abstinence six months after enrollment. The smoking status of 218,915 unique patients was assessed and recorded in the EHR. The preferred language for 95.2% of patients assessed was Spanish (n=102,146) or English (n=106,312). Among Spanish speakers, smoking prevalence was 8.4% (8,602/102,146). Among English speakers, smoking prevalence was 29.4% (31,264/106,312). The proportion of Spanish-speaking smokers who enrolled in treatment was 10.7% (924/8,602), and 78.5% of these individuals (725/924) agreed to be contacted for the 6-month follow-up. The proportion of English-speaking smokers who enrolled in treatment was 12.1% (3,785/31,264), and 78.1% of these individuals (2,957/3,785) agreed to be contacted for follow-up. Outcomes were examined among the subset of individuals who agreed to be contacted for follow-up. Among those who received treatment in Spanish, the median number of counseling calls completed was 2.26. Among those who received treatment in English, the median number of counseling calls completed was 1.20. Among those who received treatment in Spanish, self-reported 7-day point prevalence abstinence was 25.1% (182/725), and biochemically confirmed abstinence was 7.6% (55/725). Among those who received treatment in English, self-reported abstinence was 14.5% (429/2,957) and biochemically confirmed abstinence was 3.7% (110/2,957). Those who received treatment in Spanish were twice as likely to be abstinent at 6 months (self-report: OR: 1.98; 95% CI: 1.62, 2.40; biochemically confirmed: OR: 2.13; 95% CI: 1.52, 2.97). Findings indicate that streamlined, automated approaches such as AAC have great potential to engage Spanish-speaking smokers in treatment. Once engaged, Spanish speakers completed more counseling calls and were twice as likely to be abstinent at 6 months. It is also notable that large discrepancies were observed between self-reported and biochemically confirmed abstinence.

Citation Format: Bárbara Piñeiro, Damon J. Vidrine, David W. Wetter, Diana S. Hoover, Summer Frank-Pearce, Nga Nguyen, Susan M. Zbikowski, Jennifer I. Vidrine. Quitline treatment enrollment, dose, and cessation outcomes among safety net patients linked with treatment via Ask-Advise-Connect: Differential efficacy among Spanish- vs. English-speaking smokers [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Eleventh AACR Conference on the Science of Cancer Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved; 2018 Nov 2-5; New Orleans, LA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2020;29(6 Suppl):Abstract nr A032.