Is a statewide tobacco quitline an appropriate service for specific populations?
OBJECTIVE
To assess whether smoking quit rates and satisfaction with the Washington State tobacco quitline (QL) services varied by race/ethnicity, socioeconomic status, area of residence (that is, urban versus non-urban), or sex of Washington QL callers.


METHODS
From October 2004 into October 2005, we conducted telephone surveys of Washington QL callers about three months after their initial call to the QL. Analyses compared 7-day quit rates and satisfaction measures by race/ethnicity, education level, area of residence and sex (using alpha = 0.05).


RESULTS
We surveyed half (n = 1312) of the 2638 adult smokers we attempted to contact. The 7-day quit rate among survey participants at the 3-month follow-up was 31% (CI: 27.1% to 34.2%), 92% (CI: 89.9% to 94.1%) were somewhat/very satisfied overall with the QL programme, 97% (CI: 95.5% to 98.2%) indicated that they would probably/for sure suggest the QL to others and 95% (CI: 92.9% to 96.4%) were somewhat/very satisfied with the QL specialist. Quit rate did not vary significantly by race/ethnicity, education level, area of residence or sex. Satisfaction levels were high across subpopulations. Almost all participants (99%) agreed that they were always treated respectfully during interactions with QL staff.


CONCLUSIONS
The Washington QL appeared effective and well received by callers from the specific populations studied. States choosing to promote their QL more aggressively should feel confident that a tobacco QL can be an effective and well received cessation service for smokers who call from a broad range of communities.
Maher
Julie E
JE
Program Design and Evaluation Services, Multnomah County Health Department and Oregon Department of Human Services, Portland, OR, USA. julie.e.maher@state.or.us
Rohde
Kristen
K
Dent
Clyde W
CW
Stark
Michael J
MJ
Pizacani
Barbara
B
Boysun
Michael J
MJ
Dilley
Julia A
JA
Yepassis-Zembrou
Patricia L
PL
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D003376:Counseling / Q000379:methods; D004522:Educational Status; D005260:Female; D015277:Hotlines; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D017060:Patient Satisfaction / Q000208:ethnology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011369:Professional-Patient Relations; D012737:Sex Factors; D012907:Smoking / Q000208:ethnology; D016540:Smoking Cessation / Q000208:ethnology / Q000379:methods* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D000074606:Smoking Prevention; D012923:Social Class; D014504:Urban Health / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D014861:Washington / Q000453:epidemiology