Smoking Cessation Update
Research shows that nurse-led interventions have increased the chances of patients quitting smoking by up to 50 percent.
To equip nurses with the knowledge to make this kind of impact on the 800 smokers BWH admits each month, Ann Furey, RN, MBA, program coordinator in the Center of Nursing Excellence, is leading the multidisciplinary BWH Smoking Cessation Taskforce.
“Before this organized effort, we referred about 30 patients per month to a smoking cessation counselor,” Furey said. “Since our initial efforts, referrals to the smoking counselor have increased more than five-fold to 170 referrals in November. We owe our thanks to the bedside nurses and residents.”
Furey added, “We admit 800 smokers per month, so that means there is room for improvement.”
Barriers to providing smoking cessation information included lack of available materials and a knowledge deficit. “It was not clear to everyone what the definition of a positive smoker is,” Furey said. “A positive smoker is someone who answers ‘yes’ to the question: Have you used tobacco in the past 12 months?”
To help clinicians identify smokers and provide them with the resources they need to quit, an ad hoc committee formed in December 2005. It created a packet of standardized educational materials for patients, which includes a brochure created by Partners. The committee educated nurse managers and educators and developed a standard process for nurses to identify smokers and provide an intervention to help patients quit smoking.
In May 2006, the BWH Smoking Cessation Taskforce officially formed as a multidisciplinary taskforce of nurses, physicians and smoking cessation counselors.
The taskforce in November conducted a preliminary chart audit that showed nurses identify smokers 92 percent of the time, provide educational materials 30 percent of the time and refer positive smokers to counselors 46 percent of the time. Studies show that a patient who meets with a smoking cessation counselor is more likely to quit.
“This is a starting-off point for us,” Furey said. “Our goal is that 100 percent of the 800 smokers admitted each month receive the necessary materials to help them quit.”