title: Long-term Quit Rates in Fax-Referred as Compared to Self-Referred Tobacco Quitline Registrants.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  To increase the use of quitlines for treating tobacco use and dependence, quitline referral interventions are recommended for healthcare systems and providers. Research is limited as to whether fax-referred smokers have quit outcomes similar to those of traditional self-callers to quitlines.
  
  
  METHODS
  Oklahoma Tobacco Helpline registration data from March 2013 to October 2014 and 7-month follow-up data were used to compare hospital- and clinic-based fax-referred registrants (n=537) to self-callers (n=2,577). Contingency table chi-square tests and relative risks were used to identify differences in 30-day point prevalence abstinence at 7-month follow-up. Two-sided p-values <0.05 were considered statistically significant. Analyses were conducted in 2015.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Fax-referred registrants versus self-callers were significantly more likely to be older (49.4 vs 47.6 years), white (70.6% vs 59.1%), non-Hispanic (96.8% vs 94.2%), and to have smoked fewer than one pack of cigarettes per day (54.0% vs 44.9%). Self-callers versus fax-referred registrants were significantly more likely to be uninsured (36.5% vs 29.4%) and have received nicotine-replacement therapy from the Helpline (92.3% vs 79.9%). At 7-month follow-up, a similar proportion of fax-referred registrants reported not using tobacco in the past 30 days as compared to self-callers (29.3% vs 31.8%, p=0.2945).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Although differences in sociodemographics, tobacco use behavior, and Helpline services were observed between fax-referred registrants and self-callers, quit outcomes at follow-up did not differ. This observational study has important implications for tobacco control initiatives as it shows patients fax-referred by hospitals and clinics to quitlines may be as successful as self-callers in quitting smoking.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma;. Electronic address: dana-mowls@ouhsc.edu.
authors.forename: Dana S
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Mowls
authors.affiliation: Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
authors.forename: Lindsay
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Boeckman
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics Section of General and Community Pediatrics, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
authors.forename: Stephen R
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Gillaspy
authors.affiliation: Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
authors.forename: Laura A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Beebe
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D015277:Hotlines; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012017:Referral and Consultation / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D020340:Tobacco Use Cessation / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*