The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Tobacco Treatment Program Implementation at NCI-designated Ca
Friday, July 15, 2022
Posted by: Natalia Gromov
Hohl SD, Shoenbill KA,
Taylor KL, et al.
The Impact of the COVID-19
Pandemic on Tobacco Treatment Program Implementation at NCI-designated Cancer
Centers.
[published online ahead of print, 2022 Jul 2]. Nicotine Tob Res.
2022;ntac160. doi:10.1093/ntr/ntac160
Introduction. The
COVID-19 pandemic disrupted cancer screening and treatment delivery, but
COVID-19's impact on tobacco cessation treatment for cancer patients who smoke
has not been widely explored.
Methods. We
conducted a sequential cross-sectional analysis of data collected from 34
NCI-designated cancer centers participating in NCI's Cancer Center Cessation
Initiative (C3I), across three reporting periods: one prior to COVID-19
(January-June 2019) and two during the pandemic (January-June 2020,
January-June 2021). Using McNemar's Test of Homogeneity, we assessed changes in
services offered and implementation activities over time.
Results. The
proportion of centers offering remote treatment services increased each year
for Quitline referrals (56%, 68%, and 91%; p=.000), telephone counseling (59%,
79%, and 94%; p=.002), and referrals to Smokefree TXT (27%, 47%, and 56%;
p=.006). Centers offering video-based counseling increased from 2020 to 2021
(18% to 59%; p=.006), Fewer than 10% of centers reported laying off tobacco
treatment staff. Compared to early 2020, in 2021 C3I centers reported
improvements in their ability to maintain staff and clinician morale, refer to
external treatment services, train providers to deliver tobacco treatment, and
modify clinical workflows.
Discussion. The
COVID-19 pandemic necessitated rapid transition to new telehealth program
delivery of tobacco treatment for patients with cancer. C3I cancer centers
adjusted rapidly to challenges presented by the pandemic, with improvements
reported in staff morale and ability to train providers, refer patients to
tobacco treatment, and modify clinical workflows. These factors enabled C3I
centers to sustain evidence-based tobacco treatment implementation during and
beyond the COVID-19 pandemic.
Implications. This
work describes how NCI-designated cancer centers participating in the Cancer
Center Cessation Initiative (C3I) adapted to challenges to sustain
evidence-based tobacco use treatment programs during the COVID-19 pandemic.
This work offers a model for resilience and rapid transition to remote tobacco
treatment services delivery and proposes a policy and research agenda for telehealth
services as an approach to sustaining evidence-based tobacco treatment
programs.
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