CONFERENCE PROCEEDING
Determining the feasibility of a pharmacistdelivered
smoking cessation intervention
for rural smokers in partnership with
independent community pharmacies
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Department of Public Health Sciences, School of Medicine, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, United States
Publication date: 2022-07-05
Tob. Prev. Cessation 2022;8(Supplement):A31
ABSTRACT
Background:
Tobacco use disparities exist despite the widespread dissemination
of evidence-based tobacco cessation interventions. Pharmacists
are under-utilized community resources to address tobacco
control, given their centralized placement in the community,
clinical expertise and frequent patient interactions; however,
pharmacists rarely provide tobacco cessation services to their
customers due to a lack of standardized, reimbursable programs.
Objective:
The goal of this study was to determine the feasibility of delivering
a smoking cessation intervention through independent pharmacies
in rural communities that uses a standard documentation and
billing system for pharmacy reimbursement of services.
Methods:
Twenty-four rural smokers were randomized in a fully crossed
factorial design to: 1) QuitAid, a pharmacist delivered novel
5 session intervention (Yes vs No); 2) Combination nicotine
replacement therapy (NRT) Gum + NRT Patch (vs NRT patch
alone); and/or 3) 8 weeks of NRT (vs standard 4 weeks). The
primary outcomes were the feasibility of the approach, as measured
by feasibility of recruitment, randomization, and retention.
Results:
Participants were recruited within 7 weeks using an ask-adviseconnect
method (66%) at a local independent pharmacy, while
the rest were self-referred from store signage (16%), prescription
bag advertisements (4%) and word of mouth (16%). Over 82%
of the QuitAid sessions were completed, and 83% of participants
were retained at the follow-up at 3 months. Overall, participants
felt that the program was a good fit (Means: 3.69–4.62) and NRT
was useful (Means: 4.38–4.46) on 5-point Likert scales. The
community pharmacists reported that the QuitAid intervention
was straightforward and well received by participants.
Conclusions:
A smoking cessation intervention that utilizes a standard
documentation and billing platform could provide a highly
disseminable avenue for pharmacist-delivered smoking cessation
for hard-to-reach smokers. Because smoking cessation medications
are primarily available through pharmacies, a unique opportunity
exists for pharmacists to become the recognized community
resource for providing smoking cessation medication support.