RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Physician-Patient Interaction for Smoking Cessation Medications: A Dance of Mutual Accommodation?
JF The Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine
JO J Am Board Fam Med
FD American Board of Family Medicine
SP 251
OP 257
DO 10.3122/jabfm.19.3.251
VO 19
IS 3
A1 Leif I. Solberg
A1 Chris J. Enstad
A1 Raymond G. Boyle
A1 Winnie W. Nelson
YR 2006
UL http://www.jabfm.org/content/19/3/251.abstract
AB Objective: To study physician-smoker interactions around the receipt of smoking cessation medication prescriptions to better understand the low rates of reported assistance and follow-up.Methods: A stratified random sample of smokers recently filling prescriptions for cessation medications was identified for a phone interview about the quitting experience. The transcriptions of those portions of 50 interviews that addressed cessation contacts with clinicians were reviewed by the co-authors and analyzed for quantifiable data, observations, and themes.Results: Although there were low levels of reported physician adherence to the Assist and Arrange recommendations of the Public Health Service 5As clinical guideline for smoking cessation, 27 (55%) of these smokers were quit at 1 to 3 months after the medication fill. Smoker descriptions of the contacts with their physicians about smoking cessation suggested nonconfrontational, collaborative, and satisfying interactions that were flexibly dominated by either party. Physician assistance predominantly concerned use of the medication (66%).Conclusions: These physician-smoker interactions seemed to be mutually accommodative. Given the apparent high quit rates and limited evidence of smoker interest in other forms of assistance, perhaps a physician-dominant encounter is not as common or as necessary as has been thought.