Connecting Vietnamese-Speaking Immigrants who Smoke to the Asian Smokers Quitline: A Feasibility Pilot of Proactive Outreach Interventions

Introduction: Cigarette smoking is highly prevalent among Asian American immigrant subgroups. Previously, Asian-language telephone Quitline services were only available in California. In 2012, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) funded the national Asian Smokers' Quitline (ASQ) to expand Asian-language Quitline services nationally. However, there are relatively few calls to the ASQ from outside California. Aims and Methods: This pilot study assessed the feasibility of two proactive outreach interventions to connect Vietnamese-speaking participants who smoke to the ASQ. Both interventions, (1) proactive telephone outreach with a counselor trained in motivational interviewing (PRO-MI) and (2) proactive telephone outreach with interactive voice response (PRO-IVR), were adapted to be culturally and linguistically appropriate for Vietnamese-speaking participants. Participants were randomly assigned 2:1 to PRO-IVR versus PRO-MI. Assessments were conducted at baseline and 3 months post-enrollment. Feasibility indicators were the recruitment rate and initiation of ASQ treatment. Results: Using the HealthPartners electronic health record, a large health system in Minnesota, we identified approximately 343 potentially eligible Vietnamese participants who were mailed invitation letters and baseline surveys with telephone follow-up. We enrolled 86 eligible participants (25% recruitment rate). In the PRO-IVR group 7/58 participants were directly transferred to the ASQ (12% initiation rate) and in the PRO-MI group 8/28 participants were warm transferred to the ASQ (29% initiation rate). Conclusions: This pilot study demonstrates the feasibility of our recruitment methods and of implementing proactive outreach interventions to promote the initiation of smoking cessation treatment with the ASQ. Implications: This pilot study contributes novel data on the uptake of Asian Smokers' Quitline (ASQ) services among Vietnamese-speaking people who smoke (PWS) with two proactive outreach interventions: (1) proactive telephone outreach with a counselor trained in motivational interviewing (PRO-MI) and (2) proactive telephone outreach with interactive voice response (PRO-IVR). We found that it is feasible to implement these proactive outreach interventions to promote the initiation of ASQ cessation treatment among Vietnamese-language speaking PWS. Future large trials are needed to rigorously compare PRO-MI and PRO-IVR and conduct budget impact analyses to understand the most efficient strategies for incorporation into health system settings.