TXT2STAYQUIT: A PILOT RANDOMIZED TRIAL OF BRIEF AUTOMATED SMOKING CESSATION TEXTING INTERVENTION FOR INPATIENT SMOKERS DISCHARGED FROM THE HOSPITAL
Open Access
- Author:
- Hammett, Erin Elizabeth
- Graduate Program:
- Public Health Sciences
- Degree:
- Master of Science
- Document Type:
- Master Thesis
- Date of Defense:
- March 02, 2017
- Committee Members:
- Jonathan Foulds, Thesis Advisor/Co-Advisor
Christopher Sciamanna, Committee Member
Vernon Chinchilli, Committee Member - Keywords:
- smoking cessation
- Abstract:
- Introduction: Inpatient hospitalization requires smokers to quit temporarily and offers an opportunity for health care professionals to provide smoking cessation treatment. Text messaging may provide a method for continuing smoking cessation support and monitoring smoking status post-discharge. Methods: This is a randomized controlled trial of automated smoking cessation support on discharge as an adjunct to brief advice among hospital inpatients. Participants were inpatients who self-identified as tobacco users at the time of admission. Those who accepted cessation counseling as part of usual care were screened for study inclusion. Eligible participants smoked > 20 cigarettes in the 30 days prior to admission, were willing to give up all forms of tobacco, had a cell phone with them capable of receiving text messages, and were willing to send/receive text messages. Participants were randomized to receive weekly smoking status questions (control) or weekly smoking status questions plus daily smoking cessation tips (intervention). Text messages began the day the participant was discharged from the hospital and continued until phone call follow-up at one month post-discharge. Quit status was based on self-report seven-day point prevalence abstinence. Results: 140 participants, 70 receiving the intervention and 70 controls, were included in this analysis. Participants were 60% female, 81% white, an average of 42 years old, smoked an average of 14 cigarettes per day, and had an average hospital stay of 5 days with no significant differences between the intervention and control group. Intent-to-treat analysis found that 37% (n=26) of control participants and 44% (n=31) of intervention participants had quit at 1 month post-discharge (p=0.39). Overall, 56% (n=78) of participants responded to at least 4 of the 5 smoking status questions. Of those who completed the subjective ratings of the text messaging program at phone call follow-up (n=114), 75% (n=46) of intervention participants rated the text messages as ‘good’ or ‘excellent’ and an additional 13 rated as ‘satisfactory’ compared with 58% (n=31) of control participants rating the helpfulness of the text messages ‘good’ or ‘excellent’ with another 13 rating them as ‘satisfactory’ (p=0.01). Conclusion: Automated smoking cessation text messaging may provide a feasible and well-received method to encourage inpatient smokers to stay quit as well as to monitor their smoking status post-discharge from hospital.