Improving clinic- and neighborhood-based smoking cessation services within federally qualified health centers serving low-income, minority neighborhoods

Within federally qualified health centers serving low-income, African American audiences, participatory approaches to system changes were organized through multidisciplinary committees that (a) drew on evidence-based guidelines, (b) guided system changes including the requirement of documenting smoking status and readiness to quit in encounter forms, (c) tested and refined practice improvements prior to their general adoption, and (d) guided development of neighborhood-based resources and supports for smoking cessation that were linked to clinic-based services. Documentation of smoking status or readiness to quit increased from 2% of encounter forms in the first 3 months to 94.3% in the last 3 months of the 24-month program. This rate remained over 90% throughout the following year. Exit interviews also indicated increased key clinic-based services, including "explained importance of quitting" (to 78% and 82% of interview respondents in the two intervention clinics in year 2), "tell you that you should quit" (to 80% in each), "tell you about nicotine gum...or other medications" (to 69% and 58%), "offer to help you quit" (to 61% and 64%), and "tell you about programs or help in your neighborhood" (to 51% and 56%). These rates exceeded those in one comparison clinic and equaled those in a second that also had launched a smoking cessation initiative. From exit interviews, improvements in neighborhood resources and support (e.g., people and activities that encourage nonsmoking) also exceeded those in comparison clinics. Thus, participatory approaches to system changes and quality improvement can enhance clinic- and neighborhood-based smoking cessation services within health centers serving low-income, minority populations.