Program Description
Since February 2005, HWTF has funded quitline services to help teens and young adults quit tobacco use. Telephone quitlines help tobacco users quit their addiction by offering advice, support and referrals to local cessation resources. QuitlineNC services are provided by trained “quit coaches” who provide up to four callbacks to check on progress and provide additional guidance. HWTF funding supports the following:
- Callers aged 24 years or younger
- Callers who are identified as school or childcare employees
- Callers who live with and/or are the primary caregivers of children under the age of 18, and thus are role models for children/youth
QuitlineNC is available from 8 a.m. to midnight, seven days a week. In September 2007, HWTF launched the “Call It Quits” campaign, the first multimedia ad campaign to promote QuitlineNC services to young adults (ages 18 to 24). The ads simulate a phone call between a caller and a Quit Coach to help the audience get a “peek behind the curtain” of what it might be like to call QuitlineNC.
Key Accomplishments
The following section highlights key outcomes of the HWTFC-funded portion of QuitlineNC during its third year of operation:
Quitline Operation and Call Volume
- Overall funding for QuitlineNC increased 100% in Year 3
- In total, QuitlineNC received 7,332 calls during 2007-2008, an average of 611 calls per month. Average monthly call volume in Year 3 increased by 56% compared to the previous two years.
- Youth calls increased by 31.5% and young adult calls increased by 63% in Year 3. The total number of callers from HWTFC target populations increased by 15%.
- QuitlineNC call volume peaked and remained higher during the five months in which television and radio ads from the HWTFC-funded “Call it Quits” promotional campaign were aired. 67% of all HWTFC calls were received during these months.
- Young adult callers to QuitlineNC came predominately from targeted, at-risk populations.
- Most (63%) young adult callers did not attend school.
- Young adult callers who were not currently in college were more likely to report Hispanic ethnicity, have no health insurance, have Medicaid coverage, and use multiple forms of tobacco compared to young adult callers in college.
- In 2007-2008, QuitlineNC reached many adults who are caretakers and role models for children and youth in their home and school environments.
- 29% (1,817) of all callers who used tobacco were primary caregivers and/or childcare / school employees supported by HWTFC funds.
- 6% (218) of all female, HWTFC-funded callers were either planning a pregnancy, pregnant, or breastfeeding (58% of these callers were young adults and 4% were youth).
Satisfaction with services and Quit Rates
- About 90% of all HWTFC survey respondents reported that they were satisfied with QuitlineNC services. Overall, 92% of young adults and 100% of youth reported satisfaction with QuitlineNC services (few youth callers completed the survey).
- Analysis by QuitlineNC vendor Free & Clear, Inc. demonstrated a 10.8% intent-to-treat, 30-day quit rate among 7-month follow-up survey respondents from HWTFC target populations (including both One-Call and Multi-Call Program participants).
Fax Referral Service
HWTFC promoted the fax referral service statewide through a campaign that began in March 2008 and continued through the end of Year 3.
- The number of QuitlineNC callers (both HWTFC and DHHS-funded callers) who were referred by fax increased sharply in March (27 to 42) and remained higher through the end of the fiscal year, compared with the months before the promotion began.
- Utilization of the fax referral service was moderate overall:
- 265 (4%) of all tobacco-using callers referred by fax during Year 3
- Among HWTFC-funded callers, 122 (3.5%) were referred by fax, of whom 86% were primary caregivers or school employees