Objective: To examine awareness and referral to smoking cessation resources in a national sample of primary care physicians (PCP), and to identify patient, practice, and physician characteristics associated with awareness and referral.
Methods: Data were from the National Survey of Primary Care Physicians’ Recommendations and Practice for Breast, Cervical, Colorectal, and Lung Cancer Screening. The National Survey of Primary Care Physicians’ Recommendations and Practice for Breast, Cervical, Colorectal, and Lung Cancer Screening provides national estimates of PCPs knowledge, attitudes, recommendations, and practices relevant to screening for breast, cervical, colorectal, and lung cancer. The survey was fielded between September 2006 and May 2007. Physicians were selected from the sampling frame employing a stratified systematic sample design. The total sample was divided into equal-sized samples for the administration of two different questionnaires. Our analyses were restricted to data from the colorectal and lung cancer questionnaire. Descriptive, bivariate, and multivariate analyses were conducted to explore awareness and referral to smoking cessation resources.
Results: Only 23% of primary care physicians reported awareness of and referral to the National Cancer Institute 1-800-QUIT-NOW line, 6% were aware of and made referral to National Cancer Institute 1-877-44U-QUIT line, and 14% were aware of and made referral to www.smokefree.gov. Awareness and referral to other services were higher (60%). PCPs frequently reported use of state and local smoking cessation resources. Multivariate analysis predicting awareness of at least one smoking cessation resource revealed greater awareness in practice locations with 50% or fewer African American patients (OR=12.15) compared to locations with 76-100% African American patients. Awareness was higher among physicians who self identified as non-Hispanic black (OR=2.66) or non- Hispanic other (OR=1.52) compared to non-Hispanic Whites. Practice location was significantly associated with referral at the bivariate level; however, this association did not remain significant in the multivariate model.
Implications for Practice or Policy: Physicians are a primary target audience for efforts to raise awareness of and promote national smoking cessation resources. Exploring physician preferences and barriers to referring patients to smoking cessation resources could inform such efforts.