Helping Poor Smokers Quit

Very low-income smokers are different from other smokers in important ways not always addressed by standard quitline services. The research team and Alere staff has created custom protocols, scripts, prompts and other content to maximize intervention relevance and acceptability to very low-income smokers. Research Implementation Unit (RIU) coaches who will be delivering the Specialized Quitline services have received training from clinical quitline staff, the research team and 2-1-1 staff who have extensive experience with the target population. Focus areas for training and distinctive content and protocol for the Specialized Quitline include: health literacy, abstract vs. concrete language, lived experience, resource constraints, future orientation, getting cigarettes, living situation, phone/internet access.

Navigators will: (1) identify and assess smokers' needs, including the reasons they called 2-1-1; (2) jointly generate solutions to address the needs; (3) develop plans to carry out the solutions, including; (4) help prioritize among multiple needs; (5) identify community resources that could help solve the problem; (6) determine eligibility for services; (7) help smokers access available resources by scheduling appointments and provide appointment reminders; (8) prepare smokers to interact with service agencies and/or act as an advocate on their behalf; (9) provide instrumental support such as arranging transportation; (10) actively intervene to resolve barriers to basic needs solutions; (11) oversee follow-up of problem solving actions; and (12) review progress made towards resolving unmet basic needs and adapt solutions accordingly.