Implementation of a Pharmacist-Led Inpatient Tobacco Cessation Intervention in a Rehabilitation Hospital: A Before-and-After Pilot Study.

Background: Inpatient rehabilitation presents a unique opportunity for smoking interventions, given the typical lengths of stay, the relevance of smoking to the admission diagnosis of many patients, and the occurrence of nicotine withdrawal during the hospital stay.

Objective: To evaluate the feasibility of implementing a pharmacist-led version of the Ottawa Model for Smoking Cessation (OMSC) program at a rehabilitation hospital, using the indicators of reach, effectiveness, adoption, and implementation.

Methods: A before-and-after pilot study was conducted. Smoking cessation data were collected from 2 cohorts of eligible smokers identified during 4-month periods before (control) and after (intervention) implementation of the OMSC program. Control participants received usual care (i.e., no cessation intervention). Intervention participants received initial in-hospital smoking cessation support (counselling and nicotine replacement therapy), inpatient follow-up during the hospital stay, and 3 months of postdischarge follow-up calls, with all aspects led by hospital pharmacists.

Results: Among all patients admitted to participating inpatient rehabilitation units during the 2 study periods, smoking prevalence was 7.8% (127/1626). After exclusions, deaths, and withdrawals, 111 patients were retained for analysis: 55 in the control group and 56 in the intervention group. The overall mean age of participants was 64.9 (standard deviation [SD] 14.3) years, with a mean smoking history of 35.0 (SD 24.8) pack-years. There were no significant differences between groups in terms of baseline characteristics. Self-reported abstinence rates (determined 3 months after discharge) were higher after compared with before implementation of the OMSC program: for continuous abstinence, 16/56 (28.6%) versus 9/55 (16.4%), χ2 = 4.462, p = 0.035; for 7-day point prevalence abstinence, 21/56 (37.5%) versus 10/55 (18.2%), χ2 = 6.807, p = 0.009.

Conclusions: Implementation of the OMSC program at a large rehabilitation hospital was feasible and led to an increase in 3-month smoking abstinence. This study provides preliminary evidence to support inclusion of smoking interventions as part of inpatient rehabilitation care.