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Effectiveness of the Tobacco Tactics Program in the Department of Veterans Affairs

  • Original Article
  • Published:
Annals of Behavioral Medicine

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose was to determine the effectiveness of the Tobacco Tactics program in three Veterans Affairs hospitals.

Methods

In this effectiveness trial, inpatient nurses were educated to provide the Tobacco Tactics intervention in Ann Arbor and Detroit, while Indianapolis was the control site (N = 1,070). Smokers were surveyed and given cotinine tests. The components of the intervention included nurse counseling, brochure, DVD, manual, pharmaceuticals, 1-800-QUIT-NOW card, and post-discharge telephone calls.

Results

There were significant improvements in 6-month quit rates in the pre- to post-intervention time periods in Ann Arbor (p = 0.004) and Detroit (p < 0.001) compared to Indianapolis. Pre- versus post-intervention quit rates were 4 % compared to 13 % in Detroit, were similar (6 %) pre- and post-intervention in Ann Arbor, and dropped from 26 % to 12 % in Indianapolis.

Conclusion

The Tobacco Tactics program, which meets the Joint Commission standards that apply to all inpatient smokers, has the potential to significantly decrease smoking among Veterans.

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Acknowledgement

First and foremost, the authors would like to express our heartfelt appreciation to the Ann Arbor and Detroit nurses and other staff who included the intervention in their already busy work schedules. In particular, we thank the nurse champions that contributed to spear-heading Tobacco Tactics on their units including Christine Bulifant, Yamil Casillas-Hernandez, Denise Crawford, Bryan Facione, Kelly Johnston, Patricia Lello, Bettie Martinez, Carey Michel, Sarah Palmateer, Melissa Powers, Ruth Riley, Mary Jane Roth, Diane Sobecki-Ryniak, Cecilia Sosnowski, Patricia Teague, Arik Theeke, Sylvia Wallace, Charles Washington, Vicki Washington, Lori Wilson, and Patrick Wozny. Special thanks go to Ann Arbor VA volunteers Edward Florence and Thomas Griffiths for providing the follow-up phone calls to nearly 270 patients. Moreover, we acknowledge the administrative staff who supported the integration of the Tobacco Tactics program into the organization including, but not limited to, Stacey Breedveld, Micki Wheaton, Pamela McCoy, Richard White, Linda Seck, Suzanne Mohler, Patricia Gurley, Barbara Clarke, Thomas Heller, Cindy Shepler, Diane Jamrog, and Beverly Leneski. The study could not have been accomplished without the hard work of our research staff including Karen Fowler, Samantha Louzon, Amanda Fore, Judy Heath, Wanda Hines, Elizabeth Jones, and Carmelite Dalmacy. Most importantly, we thank the veterans that participated in this study. Lastly, we thank the Department of Veterans Affairs for their generous support of this Service Directed Project (SDP 06-003).

Authors’ Statement of Conflict of Interest and Adherence to Ethical Standards

Authors Duffy, Ronis, Karvonen-Gutierrez, Ewing, Dalack, Smith, Carmody, Hicks, Hermann, Reeves, and Flanagan declare that they have no conflict of interest. All procedures, including the informed consent process, were conducted in accordance with the ethical standards of the responsible committee on human experimentation (institutional and national) and with the Helsinki Declaration of 1975, as revised in 2000.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Ann Arbor VA Center for Clinical Management Research, Health Services Research and Development, 2215 Fuller Road, Ann Arbor, MI, 48105, USA

    Sonia A. Duffy Ph.D., R.N., F.A.A.N., Carrie A. Karvonen-Gutierrez M.P.H. & Lee A. Ewing M.P.H.

  2. Department of Otolaryngology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA

    Sonia A. Duffy Ph.D., R.N., F.A.A.N.

  3. Department of Psychiatry, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA

    Sonia A. Duffy Ph.D., R.N., F.A.A.N. & Gregory W. Dalack M.D.

  4. Northern Ontario School of Medicine, Greater Sudbury, ON, Canada

    Patricia M. Smith Ph.D.

  5. San Francisco VA Medical Center, San Francisco, CA, USA

    Timothy P. Carmody Ph.D.

  6. Richard L. Roudebush VA Medical Center, Indianapolis, IN, USA

    Thomas Hicks D.N.S., R.N., C.S.

  7. John D. Dingell VA Medical Center, Detroit, MI, USA

    Christopher Hermann M.S.N., N.P.-C. & Pamela Reeves M.D.

  8. VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System, Ann Arbor, MI, USA

    Petra Flanagan Pharm.D.

  9. University of Michigan, School of Nursing, Ann Arbor, MI, USA

    Sonia A. Duffy Ph.D., R.N., F.A.A.N. & David L. Ronis Ph.D.

Authors
  1. Sonia A. Duffy Ph.D., R.N., F.A.A.N.
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  2. David L. Ronis Ph.D.
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  3. Carrie A. Karvonen-Gutierrez M.P.H.
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  5. Gregory W. Dalack M.D.
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  6. Patricia M. Smith Ph.D.
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  7. Timothy P. Carmody Ph.D.
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  8. Thomas Hicks D.N.S., R.N., C.S.
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  9. Christopher Hermann M.S.N., N.P.-C.
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  10. Pamela Reeves M.D.
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  11. Petra Flanagan Pharm.D.
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Sonia A. Duffy Ph.D., R.N., F.A.A.N..

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Duffy, S.A., Ronis, D.L., Karvonen-Gutierrez, C.A. et al. Effectiveness of the Tobacco Tactics Program in the Department of Veterans Affairs. ann. behav. med. 48, 265–274 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12160-014-9605-z

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