A health sciences studente-run smoking cessation clinic experience within a homeless population

Objective: The primary objective is to describe a professional and graduate studenterun approach to smoking cessation education combined with motivational interviewing and pharmacotherapy in regard to the frequency of follow-up with a smoking cessation quitline program in the homeless population. The secondary objective is to assess participants' selfreported level of confidence, knowledge, and willingness to quit before and after participation in the student-run smoking cessation clinic. Setting: Homeless shelter in Phoenix, Arizona. Practice Description: A previously established professional and graduate studente-led clinic focused on providing a wide variety of free health services to homeless populations at a homeless shelter. One service not offered was smoking cessation support; thus, a student-run smoking cessation clinic was established. Practice Innovation: Patients were provided smoking cessation education, motivational interviewing, and pharmacotherapy by health sciences professional and graduate students. Patients were then given a 2-week supply of nicotine replacement therapy and referred to the state's smoking cessation quitline. The impact of multiple concomitant smoking cessation strategies provided by students within a homeless population has not been studied previously. Evaluation: A 10-day post-referral status update on the success of contact with patients was provided to study investigators from the smoking cessation quitline. Surveys were also used to assess the patient's self- reported level of perceived benefit with the student-run smoking cessation clinic. Results: Of the 139 unique patients, 19 (13.7%) successfully contacted the smoking cessation quitline. Patients reported high baseline confidence, knowledge, and willingness related to quit attempts; they reported a small improvement in reported values after participation in the student-run clinics. Conclusion: In the homeless population, smoking cessation education, motivational interviewing, and pharmacotherapy had a low follow-up frequency with a smoking cessation quitline, but slightly increased the patient's confidence, knowledge, and willingness to quit. (C) 2017 American Pharmacists Association (R) Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.