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Using direct marketing with relapsed quitters
Christine Owens, Director of Tobacco Control, The Roy Castle Lung
Cancer Foundation, Liverpool, UK and Miriam Bell, Roy Castle Fag Ends Liverpool Service Manager,
The Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation, Liverpool, UK
Abstract
Method:
556 clients who had relapsed (before 4 weeks) between July and September 2006 were contacted by letter and invited to return to the service. A list of the drop-in sessions which they could attend was included.
Follow up telephone calls were made two weeks later.
Results:
38% intending to return at a later date, 26% unable to
be contacted, 15% not ready to quit at the moment, 12% returned to the groups, 6% had already quit smoking and 3% moved away or deceased
Outcomes for returned clients: 22 quit at 4 weeks, 21 relapsed,
23 awaiting outcome and 2 were lost to follow up.
Conclusions:
This is a good way of promoting the stop smoking service. The approach was well received by the clients. The effort was worthwhile as 12% of those people contacted returned to
the service.
Recommendations:
This process should be repeated regularly.
Promotional materials should be sent with the letters which include quotes from those clients who have returned to the service in this way. A template for phone calls should be developed to enable greater exploration of the quitting experience. Follow up the 38% intending to return.
TOP
About the presenters
Christine Owens – Working at Liverpool City Council, in a general health promotion role when the Council developed their No Smoking Policy, in 1993, Chris asked “What about some support for smokers wanting to quit?” The answer; “Why don’t you do something?” was instrumental in her career. As Director of Tobacco Control, Chris’s duties include heading up the stop smoking team, Roy Castle Fag Ends, who provide the stop smoking services for Liverpool and Knowsley. Chris represents the Foundation on a number of national bodies and was recently on the NICE guidelines development group for smoking cessation.
Miriam Bell – In 2002 Miriam joined Roy Castle Fag Ends Liverpool and established the workplace stop smoking program that developed into one of the most successful programs in Merseyside. In 2005 she became service manger for Roy Castle Fag Ends Liverpool and oversee the running of all the different setting in the specialist stop smoking support in, Community, BME, Secondary Care, Young Persons, Mental Health, Homeless and Workplace. Her role is both challenging and rewarding in the ever changing demands for the service. We pride ourselves on the Fag Ends model that has brought us so much success.
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