Implementation of an inpatient smoking cessation programme in a Veterans Affairs facility

Aims and objectives. To test the transportability and implementation of the Tobacco Tactics intervention using the Reach, Effectiveness, Adoption, Implementation and Maintenance framework, for inpatient units at the Jesse Brown Veterans Affairs Medical Center. Background. Smoking rates are high among veterans. While the Department of Veterans Affairs has standardised outpatient cessation clinics, inpatient cessation services, known to be efficacious, are only sporadically provided. Design. This was a phase 4, pre and postimplementation study of the Tobacco Tactics intervention. Methods. A unique convenience sample of inpatient veteran smokers was recruited both before (n = 54) and after (n = 50) implementation of the Tobacco Tactics programme. Participants completed baseline and 30‐day follow‐up surveys along with urine cotinine test kits. In addition, staff completed anonymous surveys during the preintervention period (n = 158) and two months after (n = 81) the Tobacco Tactics training. Bivariate analyses compared preintervention vs. postintervention patient and staff characteristics using Chi‐square, Fisher’s Exact or Student’s t‐test. p‐values