Factors Associated with Smoking Cessation and the Receipt of Cessation Services in a Public, Safety-Net Primary Care System

Background

Prevalence of smoking is high among patients receiving care in safety-net settings, and there is a need to better understand patient factors associated with smoking cessation and receipt of cessation services.

Objective

To identify patient factors associated with smoking cessation attempts and receipt of cessation counseling and pharmacotherapy in a large safety-net health system.

Design

We conducted a retrospective cohort analysis using EHR data in a safety-net system in San Francisco, CA.

Participants

We included 7384 adult current smokers who had at least three unique primary care encounters with documented smoking status between August 2019 and April 2022.

Main measures

We assessed four outcomes using multivariate generalized estimating equation models: (1) any cessation attempt, indicating a transition in smoking status from “current smoker” to “former smoker”; (2) sustained cessation, defined as transition in smoking status from current smoker to former smokers for two or more consecutive visits; (3) receipt of smoking cessation counseling from healthcare providers; and (4) receipt of pharmacotherapy.

Key Results

Of 7384 current adult smokers, 17.6% had made any cessation attempt, and of those 66.5% had sustained cessation. Most patients (81.1%) received counseling and 41.8% received pharmacotherapy. Factors associated with lower odds of any cessation attempt included being aged 45–64, non-Hispanic black, and experiencing homelessness. The factor associated with lower odds of sustained cessation was being male. Factors associated with lower odds of receiving counseling were being insured by Medicaid or being uninsured. Factors associated with lower odds of receiving pharmacotherapy included speaking languages other than English, being male, and identifying as racial and ethnic minorities.

Conclusions

Health system interventions could close the gap in access to smoking cessation services for unhoused and racial/ethnic minority patients in safety-net settings, thereby increasing cessation among these populations.