Callers to an Asian-Language Quitline: Similarities and Differences by State

Telephone-based smoking cessation quitlines are available in all 50 states however, only one provides counseling directly in Asian languages. The Asian language counseling protocol used by the California quitline was shown effective in a large randomized trial. This project examined the implementation and dissemination of a multi-state Asian-language quitline. California partnered with Colorado and Hawaii to provide service in Chinese, Korean, and Vietnamese. States were responsible for promotion of the language lines. Counseling was provided by the California quitline. Natural variations in provision of quitting aids, population, and promotion led to differences in caller characteristics. From 1/10-1/11, 825 Asian-language speakers called. Most were from California (65%), 14% and 6% were from Hawaii and Colorado, respectively. Recent additions, New York and Washington, accounted for 7% and 2%. Most callers spoke Korean (45%), 40% spoke Chinese, and 15% spoke Vietnamese, although 98% Hawaii callers spoke Korean and 78% New York callers spoke Chinese. The rate of proxy calls was higher in California (23%) than other states (10%). Most callers (65%) report hearing about the program from media and the specific sources were consistent with states' promotional efforts. Radio was cited most often by residents of California and Washington. Colorado and New York relied on newspaper ads whereas in Hawaii it was television. This presentation will explore the various approaches used by states to promote the service. It will further discuss the model of the multi-state quitline to address disparities in access to effective cessation services for the Asian language population.