PP110026 — Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas

Grant Information

Grant ID	PP110026
Awarded On	January 27, 2011
Title	Application of Multi-modal Professional Education Platform to Facilitate Physician Tobacco Counseling for Smokers
Program	Prevention
Award Mechanism	Health Behavior Change Through Public and Professional Education and Training
Institution/Organization	The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center
Principal Investigator/Program Director	Ludmila Cofta-Woerpel
Cancer Sites	All Sites, Lung and Bronchus
Contracted Amount	$299,947
Lay Summary	Smoking is the leading cause of death in the nation and the poor carry a particularly heavy burden of lung cancer caused by smoking. Physicians are ideally positioned to help smokers quit, but do not do it as frequently as they should because of time limitations and insufficient knowledge about tobacco addiction and treatment. This project helps busy physicians refer their smoking patients to the Texas State Quitline to receive free telephone counseling and free nicotine patches. The project also offers tobacco education to physicians, both through traditional live and online lectures, and through innovative methods where actors or computer characters pretending to be patients allow the phys... Read More Smoking is the leading cause of death in the nation and the poor carry a particularly heavy burden of lung cancer caused by smoking. Physicians are ideally positioned to help smokers quit, but do not do it as frequently as they should because of time limitations and insufficient knowledge about tobacco addiction and treatment. This project helps busy physicians refer their smoking patients to the Texas State Quitline to receive free telephone counseling and free nicotine patches. The project also offers tobacco education to physicians, both through traditional live and online lectures, and through innovative methods where actors or computer characters pretending to be patients allow the physicians to learn and practice how to best help smokers quit during a short office visit. Physicians invited to participate reside and practice in the area consisting of 17 East Texas counties where smoking rates and lung cancer rates are high. Participating doctors learn to identify and assist every smoking patient they see, and to refer these patients to the Quitline for further assistance. Because most of the project materials are available online, potential impact will reach beyond the target area. This project enhances and leverages existing resources and provides the foundation for a new cancer prevention resource that can eventually be used by all physicians in the state of Texas and benefit all their smoking patients. Read Less