Quitting Smoking via Telephone (Quitline)
Training: Quitting Smoking via Telephone (Quitline);Training time: 13:00 14:30 hr.
Assoc. Prof., Dr. JintanaUnipan, the director of the Thailand National Quitline, lectured on the Quitline service. The Thailand National Quitline provides numerous telephone lines that can be reached using land lines or mobile phones, and gives advice to smokers who want to quit smoking. This method is not considered a face to face conversation. Thailand, Korea and Taiwan in Asia now have quit lines for cigarette cessation services.
The developing period for the Thailand National Quitline (Quitline)
The first step of the Quitline in September 2009 was to design a system, and a method used for database collection was written down on paper. A revised system was designed in September 2010 with a call center service along with computer techniques which were applied to the system. Later on, this system was brought into the Thailand Nation Quitline.
The counseling for the Quitline is called Professional counseling. This counseling takes about20 minutes for those smokers who call the Quitline by themselves. In terms of providing cigarette cessation service to people close to smokers who are deaf or have various physical disabilities, serious mental health problems or smokers who do not intend to quit smoking, counseling is only provided to those smokers intending to quit smoking. About 8% of smokers called the Quitline as a result of having health problems or seeing pictorial warning on cigarette packs on television. Influence from the smokers family is another reason that persuades smokers to call the Quitline.
The Quitline service (call 1600)
As to the management of the Quitline, its outcomes are possible due to its service base, the cigarette cessation service clinics who work cooperatively to provide easy access to smokers by providing referral to counselors available through up to 30 lines at the same time. The Quitline has continually monitored its quality and system and provides services through both group trainings and individual training following its slogan, You can because you think you can: Believe that you can do it.
For smokers who are referred to service through the network, after entering to the Quitline website, then smokers go to You refer and enter name, telephone no. and also indicate time that prefer the Quitline to call back or send information from the hospital. However, if smokers would like to quit smoking by themselves, they can go to You quit or Live chat and then make an appointment to receive individual service. Cigarette cessation service is provided through a protocol. This protocol includes having a quit date which is set within the next30 days, and the Quitline will call back to encourage the smoker during that period. However, the Quitline service center has had to abandon making many calls. Since a lot of smokers call the Quitline, there are not enough Quitline service staff to give counseling advice. However, this problem has been resolved nowadays by using Call taken, which can help to decrease the number of abandoned calls. Moreover, the Quitline also helps smokers with treatment and also monitors results among those trying to quit smoking, such as at the Police Hospital that treats and monitors results of those quitting smoking via You report. However, the best service of the Quitline service center involves the use of medicine, along with providing advice about these methods available in cigarette cessation clinics, such as Nicotine replacement therapies (NRT).
Tobacco Control Research and Knowledge Management Center (TRC)
Title: Quitting Smoking via Telephone: The Quitline
The 3rdTobacco Control at Provincial Level Meeting
By Miss PraweenaPankajang
