Michigan hospitals are always caring for the unique needs of their communities — and always advancing new approaches to improve health outcomes.
At Henry Ford Health, that commitment was recently reflected by its participation in a national clinical trial that offered free smoking cessation medications alongside financial incentives to medically underserved adults who smoked and were referred for lung cancer screening. The study resulted in quit rates nearly doubling among participants.
The randomized trial enrolled more than 3,200 adults across five U.S. medical centers, including Henry Ford Health, Penn Medicine, Lancaster General Health, Geisinger and Kaiser Permanente Southern California. Participants were primarily from populations that traditionally face barriers to high-quality healthcare.
“These are people who have smoked for many years and may have tried to quit before, so we know how difficult successfully quitting can be,” said Christine Neslund-Dudas, Ph.D., a Henry Ford Health researcher and study investigator. “What’s encouraging about these findings is that they give us another tool to consider, particularly for people who may face additional barriers to quitting.”
The study also points to an opportunity for health systems to connect tobacco treatment with lung cancer screening.
At Henry Ford Health, tobacco treatment is integrated into its centralized lung cancer screening program, connecting people who smoke with cessation support as part of the screening process.
“Lung cancer screening gives us an opportunity not only to find cancer earlier, when we have a better chance of treating it successfully, but also to address one of the most important risk factors for cancer and many other diseases,” said Mike Simoff, M.D., a Henry Ford Health pulmonologist and lung cancer screening expert. “When someone comes to us for screening, we have an opportunity to talk about stopping smoking and give them the support they need to make a change that can affect their health for years to come.”
Quitting tobacco can be extraordinarily difficult, particularly for people facing financial pressures, stress and other challenges. Henry Ford Health’s Tobacco Treatment Service provides telephone-based counseling using motivational interviewing, an approach that helps people examine their reasons for smoking and quitting and helps participants to develop strategies for changing their behavior. Treatment can also include medications to reduce cravings and withdrawal symptoms. The service is offered at no cost to patients as a community benefit.
“Helping people quit means understanding their routines, stress and what motivates them,” said Amanda Holm, MPH, who supports Henry Ford Health’s tobacco treatment service. “Financial incentives could give people a tangible reward for their progress and help build confidence that they can keep going. The money could also be meaningful for someone with limited financial resources.”
Those interested in learning more about lung cancer screening and eligibility are encouraged to visit Henry Ford Health’s website. To learn about other stories of innovation advancing care across Michigan, visit mihospitals.org. Members with questions may contact the MHA communications department.
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Source: www.mha.org
