A health sciences student-run smoking cessation clinic experience within a homeless population

Abstract

Objective: The primary objective is to describe a professional and graduate student-run approach to smoking cessation education combined with motivational interviewing and pharmacotherapy in regard to the frequency of follow-up with a smoking cessation quitline program in the homeless population. The secondary objective is to assess participants' self-reported level of confidence, knowledge, and willingness to quit before and after participation in the student-run smoking cessation clinic.

Setting: Homeless shelter in Phoenix, Arizona.

Practice description: A previously established professional and graduate student-led clinic focused on providing a wide variety of free health services to homeless populations at a homeless shelter. One service not offered was smoking cessation support; thus, a student-run smoking cessation clinic was established.

Practice innovation: Patients were provided smoking cessation education, motivational interviewing, and pharmacotherapy by health sciences professional and graduate students. Patients were then given a 2-week supply of nicotine replacement therapy and referred to the state's smoking cessation quitline. The impact of multiple concomitant smoking cessation strategies provided by students within a homeless population has not been studied previously.

Evaluation: A 10-day post-referral status update on the success of contact with patients was provided to study investigators from the smoking cessation quitline. Surveys were also used to assess the patient's self-reported level of perceived benefit with the student-run smoking cessation clinic.

Results: Of the 139 unique patients, 19 (13.7%) successfully contacted the smoking cessation quitline. Patients reported high baseline confidence, knowledge, and willingness related to quit attempts; they reported a small improvement in reported values after participation in the student-run clinics.

Conclusion: In the homeless population, smoking cessation education, motivational interviewing, and pharmacotherapy had a low follow-up frequency with a smoking cessation quitline, but slightly increased the patient's confidence, knowledge, and willingness to quit.