Tobacco-Focused Patient Navigation to Address Barriers to Utilization of Community-Based Smoking Cessation Services in Primary Care

Tobacco-Focused Patient Navigation to Address Barriers to Utilization of Community-Based Smoking Cessation Services in Primary Care

Patient navigators have been shown to assist people seeking cancer screening and other medical services. The purpose of this study is to see whether a patient navigator can link smokers to available community resources shown to help smokers quit smoking.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Age ≥ 18 years
• Self-reported current daily smoker, as verified with a portable alveolar carbon monoxide (CO) analyzer (24 hour point prevalence); CO levels ≥ 8 ppm.
• English and/or Spanish-speaking
• Referred to the navigation program by their primary care clinician
• At baseline, participants report at least thinking about quitting (i.e., Contemplation or Preparation stages of readiness to quit).

Exclusion Criteria:

• Serious, untreated psychiatric illness (e.g., schizophrenia,) or active substance abuse likely to preclude adherence to the protocol