Carpenter's Trust Western Washington Case Study
Article Highlights
- Study Title
- Carpenter's Trust Western Washington Case Study
Studies of smoking rates across occupations reveal that approximately 40% of blue-collar workers in industries such as construction, transportation, and textiles smoke. Reaching a high portion of these workers with awareness-raising messages and support programs to quit smoking has traditionally been difficult, and many programs have only been moderately successful. This study examines the effectiveness of the Free & Clear tobacco cessation program to help blue-collar workers in Washington State quit smoking.
In conjunction with the Carpenters Health and Security Trust of Western Washington, Free & Clear implemented a pilot demonstration of a 1-call and 5-call counseling program for tobacco users in the trust. Based on the national and state rates of smoking in blue-collar populations, it was estimated that there were approximately 7,400 smokers in the trust. In order to achieve the highest return on investment, the F&C pilot was designed to treat those people who identified themselves as ready to quit smoking; it did not provide direct counseling services to people not interested in quitting or merely thinking about quitting in the future.
Participants in both the 1-call and 5-call programs had access to one phone call with a highly trained F&C specialist to work on setting a quit date and defining a plan to carry out the quit. However, those in the 5-call model had four additional phone calls with specialists to receive support and problem solve throughout the quit process. In addition, all participants had equal access to nicotine patches, nicotine gum, or buproprion if interested.
To analyze the quit rate, researchers contacted 325 - of a possible 935 - participants twelve months after enrollment. Of the participants who were reached for assessment, 61% selected the 5-call program and 39% selected the 1-call model. The researchers learned the women were more likely to select the 5-call model; among men, older participants were more likely to select the 5-call program.
With both program formats combined, the portion of those quit (of those they successfully reached for assessment) was 27.5%. In the 5-call group, the portion quit was 28.9%; in the 1-call group, the portion quit was 25.5%.
Conclusion
Free & Clear and the Carpenters Trust of Western Washington conducted a study to determine the relation between treatment intensity (1-call program v 5-call program) and success at quitting tobacco. At one year after registration, 27.5% of CTWW members were quit. In addition, 94% of participants reported feeling highly satisfied with the F&C program. The estimated savings due to reduced use of health care to treat tobacco-related illness is approximately 15 times the program's cost, providing an annual return on investment of over 27%.