Increasing Tobacco Use Cessation: Provider Reminders with Provider Education

Provider reminder systems with provider education are multicomponent strategies to increase tobacco use cessation. These strategies include efforts to educate and to prompt providers to identify and intervene with tobacco-using clients, as well as to provide additional educational materials. The components of this intervention are a provider reminder system and a provider education program with or without client education materials such as self-help cessation manuals.

Summary of Task Force Recommendations & Findings

The Community Preventive Services Task Force recommends provider reminder systems with a provider education program with or without educational materials for tobacco- using clients based on strong evidence of effectiveness that this combination:

1. Increases provider delivery of advice to quit to tobacco using clients
2. Increases client tobacco use cessation

This recommendation reflects the evidence of effectiveness of the most common combination evaluated, as the contribution of the individual components to overall effectiveness of these interventions could not be determined.

Provider reminder systems are recommended:

1. Whether used alone or as part of a multicomponent intervention (Provider Reminder Systems with Provider Education)
2. Across a range of intervention characteristics (chart stickers, checklists, and flowcharts), and
3. In a variety of clinical settings and populations

Task Force Finding

Results from the Systematic Reviews

Thirty-one studies qualified for the review.

• For interventions that included at least a provider reminder system and a provider education program:
  • The number of clients who received advice from a provider to quit tobacco use increased by a median of 20.0 percentage points.
  • There was a median 4.7 percentage point increase in the number of clients who quit tobacco use.
• For interventions that included provider reminders, provider education and client education:
  • Provider advice to quit increased by a median of 22.0 percentage points.
  • The number of clients who quit increased by a median of 5.7 percentage points.
• These programs are applicable in different settings, populations, and with different forms of tobacco.
• Studies were carried out in a variety of healthcare settings including HMOs, private practices, physician training programs, and public health clinics as well as in provider populations such as primary care, internal, and family medicine.

Find a Research-tested Intervention Program (RTIP) about the use of provider reminder systems with provider education to increase tobacco use cessation (What is an RTIP?).

These findings were based on a systematic review of all available studies, conducted on behalf of the Task Force by a team of specialists in systematic review methods, and in research, practice and policy related to tobacco use.

Supporting Materials

• Research gaps
• Included studies

Publications

Hopkins DP, Briss PA, Ricard CJ. Reviews of evidence regarding interventions to reduce tobacco use and exposure to environmental tobacco smoke. [PDF - 6.38MB] Am J Prev Med 2001;20(2S):16–66.

Task Force on Community Preventive Services. Recommendations regarding interventions to reduce tobacco use and exposure to environmental tobacco smoke. [PDF - 1.46KB] Am J Prev Med 2001;20(2S):10–5.

Task Force on Community Preventive Services. Tobacco. [PDF - 3.63KB] In : Zaza S, Briss PA, Harris KW, eds. The Guide to Community Preventive Services: What Works to Promote Health? Atlanta (GA): Oxford University Press;2005:3-79.

More Community Guide publications about Tobacco Use

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Sample Citation

The content of publications of the Guide to Community Preventive Services is in the public domain. Citation as to source, however, is appreciated. Sample citation: Guide to Community Preventive Services. Increasing tobacco use cessation: provider reminders with provider education. Last updated: www.thecommunityguide.org/tobacco/cessation/providerreminderedu.html. Last updated: MM/DD/YYYY.

Review completed: February 2000