Tobacco Induced Diseases (Mar 2018)

Development of an evaluation tool for smoking cessation clinics and services

  • Tai-Hing Lam,
  • Yao He,
  • Chao Qiang Jiang,
  • Yee Tak Derek Cheung,
  • Sai Yin Ho,
  • Ho Cheung William Li,
  • Kar Keung Cheng,
  • Nan Jiang,
  • Shenghua Su,
  • Yan Tang,
  • Yuan Jiang,
  • Weihua Zhu,
  • Peiru Lin

DOI
https://doi.org/10.18332/tid/84398
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 16, no. 1

Abstract

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Background and challenges to implementation Many smoking cessation clinics are passive and dependent on motivated smokers to proactively seek help. Also, smoking cessation clinics are not well publicized. Most healthcare professionals are unaware of the existing smoking cessation services, and rarely refer smokers to these clinics. Many smokers who want to quit do not proactively visit these clinics or call the quitline. Most if not all these clinics and services are not receiving the expected number of smokers and some are dormant or closed down quietly. Intervention or response This project, commissioned by the Hong Kong Tobacco Control Office, was to develop and publish an evaluation tool (E-tool, version 1.1) for smoking cessation clinics and services. The project team gathered documentations and data from smoking cessation clinics in Hong Kong, Guangzhou and Beijing. Stakeholders discussed and agreed on what would be the most appropriate items for the E-tool. The E-tool draft was pilot-tested by 27 smoking cessation clinics and hospitals in Hong Kong, China Mainland and Southeast Asian countries (from the WHO Fellowship Programme on Tobacco Control, organized by Hong Kong Tobacco Control Office). Results and lessons learnt The finalized E-tool (version 1.1) consists of 33 most basic and essential items in 4 assessment components: Organization assessment (17 points), Environmental assessment (14 points), Process assessment (28 points) and Outcome assessment (11 points). The E-tool and user manual have English, traditional Chinese and simplified Chinese versions. All materials can be freely accessed in https://mrct.sph.hku.hk/web/. Conclusions and key recommendations The E-tool for smoking cessation clinics and services can be used to evaluate the quality and outcomes of existing clinics and services, and provide an outcome-oriented guidance for setting up new clinics and services. We invite all kinds of smoking cessation clinics and services in any territories to use this E-tool, and to provide feedback for the development of more advanced E-tools in the future.

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