Telephone Care Coordination for Smokers in VA Mental Health Clinics (TeleQuit MH)

VA Office of Research and Development

Status: Completed

Conditions: Smoking

Treatments: Other: Telephone Care Coordination with state Quitline; Other: Telephone Care Coordination

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other U.S. Federal agency

Identifiers

NCT00724308

SDP 07-034

Details and patient eligibility

About

The purpose of this study is to evaluate whether a smoking cessation telephone care coordination program is effective and feasible in VA Mental Health Clinics.

Full description

Smoking is the leading preventable cause of death in the United States and is a particular problem among VA users and among persons with a diagnosed mental illness. The prevalence of smoking among VA mental health patients has remained high, in part because smoking cessation treatment rates have remained low. Telephone-based counseling represents the most feasible approach to increasing smoking cessation treatment among VA patients. The approach used in this study has been used very effectively in a primary care-based population that includes a large percentage of mental health patients. This project would target the program specifically at patients seen in VA Mental Health Clinics.

Enrollment: 577 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 18+ years old

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• Smokers who are referred from Mental Health Clinics in VA VISNs 1 and 3.
• Patients must have access to a telephone and a regular mailing address.

Exclusion criteria

• No access to a telephone
• no mailing address
• not receiving care from a VISN 1 or VISN 3 Mental Health provider

Trial design

Primary purpose: Health Services Research

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: None (Open label)

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577 participants in 2 patient groups

Arm 1

Experimental group

Description:

The telephone care coordination program involves the following steps: (1) brief counseling and referral from a mental health provider; (2) prescribing and mailing of smoking cessation medications; (3) proactive multi-call counseling from TeleQuit MH study counselors; and (4) follow-up at 2 and 6 months to check the patient's smoking status.

Treatment:

Other: Telephone Care Coordination

Arm 2

Experimental group

Description:

The telephone care coordination program involves the following steps: (1) brief counseling and referral from a mental health provider; (2) prescribing and mailing of smoking cessation medications; (3) proactive multi-call counseling from the patient's state smoking cessation "Quitline"; and (4) follow-up at 2 and 6 months to check the patient's smoking status.

Treatment:

Other: Telephone Care Coordination with state Quitline