title: Promoting tobacco cessation utilizing pre-health professional students as research associates in the emergency department.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The objective of this study was to investigate the extent to which volunteer research associates (RAs) can be utilized to screen emergency department patients and their visitors for tobacco use and effectively refer tobacco users requesting help to state Tobacco Quitlines.
  
  
  METHODS
  A sample of 19,149 individuals in 10 emergency departments around the country was enrolled into a prospective, interventional study on tobacco cessation by pre-health professional RAs. Participants who screened positive for tobacco use were provided a brief description of Tobacco Quitline programs and then offered a faxed referral to their respective state Quitline.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 10,303 (54%) participants reported tobacco use for more than one month during their lives, with 3861 (20%) currently using every day and an additional 1340 using on some days (7%). Most importantly, 2151 participants requested a faxed Tobacco Quitline referral (36% of individuals who used tobacco in the past month).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Pre-health professional RAs were shown to be an effective and cost-efficient resource for providing a strongly recommended service in the emergency department. Patient care (and the care of their visitors) was supplemented, emergency department personnel were not provided with additional burden, and RAs were provided with valuable experience for their futures in the health professions.
authors.affiliation: Department of Emergency Medicine, University of Rochester Medical Center, 265 Crittenden Blvd., Rochester, NY 14642, United States; Department of Psychiatry, University of Rochester Medical Center, 265 Crittenden Blvd., Rochester, NY 14642, United States; Department of Public Health Sciences, University of Rochester Medical Center, 265 Crittenden Blvd., Rochester, NY 14642, United States. Electronic address: beau_abar@urmc.rochester.edu.
authors.forename: Beau
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Abar
authors.affiliation: Department of Emergency Medicine, Hackensack University Medical Center, 30 Prospect Ave., Hackensack, NJ 07601, United States.
authors.forename: Chinwe
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Ogedegbe
authors.affiliation: Department of Emergency Medicine, Saint Louis University School of Medicine, 1402 South Grand Blvd., St. Louis, MO 63104, United States.
authors.forename: Preeti
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Dalawari
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, University of Vermont College of Medicine, 89 Beaumont Ave., Burlington, VT 05405, United States.
authors.forename: Kalev
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Freeman
authors.affiliation: Department of Emergency Medicine, University of Massachusetts Medical School, 55 Lake Avenue North, Worcester, MA 01655, United States; Department of Psychiatry, University of Massachusetts Medical School, 55 Lake Avenue North, Worcester, MA 01655, United States; Department of Quantitative Health Sciences, University of Massachusetts Medical School, 55 Lake Avenue North, Worcester, MA 01655, United States.
authors.forename: Edwin D
authors.initials: ED
authors.lastname: Boudreaux
authors.affiliation: Department of Emergency Medicine, St. Vincent's Medical Center, 2800 Main Street, Bridgeport, CT 06606, United States.
authors.forename: Frank
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Illuzzi
authors.affiliation: The National Alliance of Research Associates Programs, Bridgeport, CT, United States.
authors.forename: Stephanie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Carro-Kowalcyk
authors.affiliation: The National Alliance of Research Associates Programs, Bridgeport, CT, United States; University of Arizona College of Medicine - Tucson, 550 E. Van Buren Street, Tucson, AZ 85004, United States.
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Molloy
authors.affiliation: The National Alliance of Research Associates Programs, Bridgeport, CT, United States.
authors.forename: Keith
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Bradley
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003362:Cost-Benefit Analysis; D004505:Education, Nonprofessional; D004516:Education, Premedical; D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital; D005260:Female; D015277:Hotlines; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012017:Referral and Consultation; D012108:Research Personnel / Q000191:economics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D013334:Students; D064424:Tobacco Use / Q000628:therapy; D020340:Tobacco Use Cessation / Q000191:economics / Q000379:methods*; D014029:Tobacco Use Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D014838:Volunteers; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Quitline; Research associates; Tobacco cessation