Availability and Characteristics of Hospital-Affiliated Tobacco-Cessation Programs in the U.S., 2000-2018.

ABSTRACT

INTRODUCTION: Smoking-cessation interventions can increase successful quitting, reduce healthcare costs, and enhance patients' health and well-being. This study assesses changes in the availability of hospital-affiliated smoking-cessation programs over time in the U.S. and examines the hospital characteristics associated with such programs. METHODS: Data were obtained from the American Hospital Association annual surveys. Joinpoint regressions were used to estimate the trends in having hospital-affiliated cessation programs between 2000 and 2018. A logit regression was used to estimate the association between hospital characteristics (bed size, location, teaching status, ownership) and having any hospital-affiliated cessation program. Analyses were conducted in 2019. RESULTS: The percentage of U.S. hospitals with any tobacco-cessation program increased from 23.8% (95% CI=22.7, 24.9) in 2000 to 45.5% (95% CI=44.2, 46.7) in 2018. There were sharp increases in the cessation programs between 2000 and 2002 but no change between 2015 and 2018. Hospitals with ≥200 beds (vs <200 beds; OR=2.6, 95% CI=2.5, 2.7), urban hospitals (vs rural; OR=1.3, 95% CI=1.2, 1.3), teaching hospitals (vs nonteaching; OR=1.7, 95% CI=1.7, 1.8), and private not-for-profit hospitals and public hospitals (vs private for-profit; OR=5.1, 95% CI=4.9, 5.3, and OR=3.2, 95% CI=3.0, 3.4, respectively) had higher odds of having a hospital-affiliated tobacco-cessation program. CONCLUSIONS: Less than half of U.S. hospitals reported having any hospital-affiliated cessation program in 2018. Although program prevalence nearly doubled between 2000 and 2015, this increase has not continued in recent years. Further efforts to promote and support hospital-affiliated cessation programs could be beneficial, especially among smaller, rural, nonteaching, and private for-profit hospitals.