African american participation and success in telephone counseling for smoking cessation

Introduction: Quitlines that provide telephone counseling for smoking cessation have been proved to be effective. All 50 states currently provide free quitline access to their residents; however, little research has been published on African American utilization of quitlines or their success rates. Methods: This study evaluated how effectively African Americans are served by telephone counseling (quitline) for smoking cessation based on empirical data from 45,510 callers from Texas, Louisiana, Washington, and District of Columbia and randomized clinical trial data from 3,522 participants. Results: African Americans tended to use a quitline in proportions greater than their proportional representation in the smoking communities in both states and the District. African American quit rates were equivalent to those of non-Hispanic "Whites" as were their levels of satisfaction with the service and the number of counseling sessions they completed. African Americans were more likely to request counseling than non-Hispanic Whites. Conclusions: This study demonstrates that telephone counseling is a promising tool for addressing health disparities related to smoking among African Americans.