GRANT: Lowenstein Funded to Implement Patient Decision Support

Lisa Lowenstein, PhD (2017 Fellow) was recently awarded funding by the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) for the D&I project entitled Implementing Patient Decision Support for Lung Cancer Screening through Tobacco Quitlines. Dr. Lowenstein serves as Dual-PI alongside Dr. Robert Volk, the project’s primary investigator.

This grant will use the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR) to anchor and inform the design, outcomes, and evaluation plan. Eight state quitlines operated by six service providers will serve as implementation sites for this project. There will be two phases: testing/refining implementation strategies in 4 quitlines and expanding implementation to 4 additional quitlines to maximize coverage of service nationally. NAQC will serve as the external facilitator for the project, and local champions have be identified for each site. Site visits will occur prior to launching implementation, and will include training of quitline staff identify callers eligible for LCS. A centralized website, lungscreen.health, will include LCS resources for smokers including our PDA, eligibility criteria, a discussion guide for use with primary care providers, and information about finding LCS programs. During the implementation project, about 10,000 callers will learn about LCS and patient decision support, and may have their lives saved by it. Reach will be determined by the number of callers assessed for initial eligibility for LCS and directed to the PDA over the number of potentially eligible callers based on age. Call center staff will keep a log of all potentially eligible callers based upon age and pack‐year history. Effectiveness of the LCS program on will be assessed by surveying patients recruited at the time they contact a quitline for smoking cessation services and when they access the LCS resource website. Immediate outcomes will include knowledge of LCS harms and benefits, preparation for decision making, and use of the PDA. Longer‐term outcomes up to 6 months after contacting a quitline will include scheduling an appointment with a health care provider to discuss LCS and completion of LCS.

The primary objective is to increase the number of smokers eligible for LCS who receive high‐quality decision support materials about LCS through tobacco quitlines and go on to make informed decisions about screening. The aims undertaken in order to achieve the objective includes: (1) test and refine LCS patient decision support program implemented through tobacco quitlines, (2) evaluate the reach, adoption, and fidelity of the decision support program, and its effectiveness in improving smokers’ decisions about LCS and completion of screening, and (3) document the resources required to launch and maintain the LCS decision support program by tobacco quitlines.

Congratulations Lisa!!!!!

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