Development and Implementation of an Innovative Tobacco Cessation Systems Change Model in Regional Safety-Net Sites in Florida

Introduction: Florida has a long standing history of tobacco prevention and treatment initiatives. Currently, tobacco training and cessation intervention are being addressed with a limited number of health professionals who are able to intervene successfully to help their patients quit tobacco use. The CDC Best Practices and the Public Health Service Clinical Practice Guideline serve as a framework to demonstrate a broad based systems change approach providing increased access to community tobacco cessation and counseling services. Objective: To identify and implement an innovative and comprehensive systems change model focused on tobacco cessation in rural and underserved communities utilizing evidence-based outcomes and targeted demonstration projects. Methods: Compare and contrast the implementation of the tobacco cessation systems change model in safety-net sites and community organizations. The process will identify essential strategies to increase the capacity of health care providers to treat tobacco dependency. Assess outcomes to include tobacco cessation participation, quit rates at multiple time intervals and its impact on relapse. Results: The implementation of the systems change model of tobacco cessation treatment and counseling demonstrate the public health benefits related to reductions in tobacco use including the measurement of the tobacco use quit rate outcomes. Conclusion: The innovative program as employed strengthened the capacity in targeted communities to provide tobacco use treatment, cessation, and prevention services employing the systems change model. The systems change model which focused on cessation and training provides an evidence based approach to quitting tobacco use following the CDC Best Practices and the Public Health Service Guideline.