Project reach: Piloting a risk-tailored smoking cessation intervention for lung screening

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to explore the feasibility, acceptability, and efficacy of a telephone-based smoking cessation intervention for lung screening patients. Participants ( N = 39) were enrolled in a single-arm pilot study of a four-session telephone-based intervention. Self-report measures were completed at baseline, post-intervention, and 3-month follow-up. Participants were long-term smokers; 62 percent were not motivated to quit. Twenty-three percent attempted quitting, 29 percent decreased their smoking, and 11 percent reported abstinence. Confidence increased ( p < .001) and there were trends toward increased importance ( p = .09) and comparative disease risk ( p = .02). This intervention was acceptable and associated with improvements in smoking-related beliefs and behaviors.

Lung cancer screening in a community setting: Characteristics, motivations, and attitudes of individuals being screened

“…After the National Lung Screening Trial (NLST) findings in 2011 showed a substantial relative reduction in lung cancer mortality with low-dose computed tomography (LDCT) screening (Aberle et al 2011), the US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) recommended lung cancer screening for specific high-risk populations (Moyer and USPSTF, 2014), and in 2015, Medicare and private insurance began to provide coverage of LDCT screening for lung cancer. Following these policy changes, advocates, researchers, and health care providers anticipated a strong upsurge in screening rates and hoped that lung cancer screening might provide a teachable moment regarding smoking cessation (Lennes et al, 2018). However, anecdotal evidence and two recent studies (Huo et al, 2017; Jemal and Fedewa, 2017) have shown lower than expected rates of screening among individuals for whom screening is recommended based on their smoking history.…”