Contact:
William Wadland, Family Practice
(517) 353-0851, Extension 428
or Bertram Stoffelmayr, Psychiatry
(517) 355-1731
or Tom Oswald, Media Communications
(517) 355-2281
NEW MSU SMOKING CESSATION PROGRAM PROVES SUCCESSFUL
EAST LANSING, Mich. -- An innovative smoking cessation program developed at Michigan State University which combines old-fashioned telephone support and modern computer technology is proving to be extremely effective in helping smokers kick the nicotine habit.
The MSU Smoking Cessation Project recently tested its program at clinics in west Michigan and it resulted in more than 32 percent of its participants becoming smoke-free. A smoking cessation program is considered successful if 20 percent of its participants quit.
Under this program, a smoker who has recently quit is contacted by a counselor on a regular basis for up to three months. By using a computer program developed by MSU researchers, the counselor, after collecting information from the patient, is able to tell under what circumstances the patient is more likely to smoke and, more importantly, suggests ways in which he or she can resist the urge.
"The computer offers menus and grids of coping strategies," said William Wadland, project director and chairperson of MSU's Department of Family Practice. "They then choose techniques to get through that situation. It could be anything from eating something to using breathing or visualization techniques."
It's this follow-up contact, also known as relapse intervention, that is the key to success, Wadland said. Most quitters give in to temptation within the first two weeks. Under this program, the patients are called by a counselor the day after they quit, then three days, seven days, two weeks, a month and two months after quitting.
"We call the smoker. It takes the initiative out of their hands," said Bertram Stoffelmayr, an MSU psychiatry professor who worked on the project. "The smoker doesn't have to remember 'it's day seven and I need to speak to a counselor.'"
"When someone commits to a life change such as this, there's almost always some slippage," Wadland said. "Social support is important. But what we've done is given them tools beyond social support, namely coping strategies to help them through those tough times."
Participating in this project were Medicaid patients at clinics in Muskegon and Lake counties. After three months, 22 of 69 patients were confirmed smoke-free, a 32 percent success rate.
The program was so successful that both the state of Michigan and Blue Care Network (BCN) are planning to use it. BCN will use the software to complement its nurse help line. MSU also is working with the state to develop a state-wide smoking support service.
This project also underscored the value of the primary care physician in identifying smokers who are at risk.
"Seventy to 80 percent of smokers will visit a primary care doctor over a one to two year period," Wadland said. "Primary care offices are an excellent access point for smokers at increased health risk. They also are excellent sites to initiate the behavioral process for smoking cessation."
But while the primary care setting is good for identification of health risks and providing initial advice, it's the follow-up sessions that increase the chances of a smoker quitting.
Wadland and colleagues recently presented the findings of this project at the International Conference on Behavioral Medicine in Denmark.
This work was part of a project titled "Cancer Prevention, Outreach and Screening/Detection for Cancer Patients." It was funded by a grant from the Michigan Department of Community Health to the MSU Institute for Managed Care.
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