The ask-advise-connect approach for smokers in a safety net healthcare system: a group-randomized tr

Am J Prev Med. 2013 Dec;45(6):737-41. doi: 10.1016/j.amepre.2013.07.011.
Vidrine JI, Shete S, Li Y, Cao Y, Alford MH, Michelle Galindo-Talton R, Rabius V, Sharp B, Harmonson P, Zbikowski SM, Miles L, Wetter DW.

This study evaluated the efficacy of the Ask-Advise-Connect (AAC) approach to linking smokers with treatment in a large, safety net public healthcare system. The study design was a pair-matched group-randomized trial with two treatment arms. The primary outcome was impact, defined here as the proportion of identified smokers that enrolled in treatment. The impact (proportion of identified smokers who enrolled in treatment) of AAC (14.7%) was significantly greater than the impact of AAR (0.5%), t(4)=14.61, p=0.0001, OR=32.10 (95% CI=16.60, 62.06). The AAC approach to aiding smoking cessation has tremendous potential to reduce tobacco-related health disparities.