Evaluation of dental tobacco cessation tool in practice-based research network This Phase II project will finish development and evaluate QuitAdvisorDDS as a tool for dental providers to advise patients on tobacco cessation. The University of Kentucky will evaluate the effectiveness of QuitAdvisorDDS in increasing quit attempts in tobacco using patients. The evaluation will be conducted within the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research's (NIDCR) National Dental Practice- based Research Network (NDPBRN). Tobacco use severely affects dental health, and 80% of dentists consider tobacco cessation counseling and advice as one of their medical responsibilities. However, the majority of dental health care workers do not do this. Reasons for this inaction are multifaceted, including lack of training, confidence, time, and funding. Health Decision Technologies (HDT) is developing QuitAdvisorDDS as a tool for dental providers to advise patients on tobacco cessation. This interactive, web-distributable tool assists dentists and dental hygienists in providing patient-tailored tobacco cessation counseling using proven patient-centered counseling techniques. QuitAdvisorDDS also enables dental providers to rapidly determine the patient's stage of readiness for change through four simple prompted questions. Once the dental provider has determined the patient's acceptance level, QuitAdvisorDDS will automatically proceed to a scripted motivational interview tailored to the patient's stage of change, while providing relevant health behavior information dentists can use to intervene with during the appointment. Finally, in addition to gathering information prior to the clinical encounter, QuitAdvisorDDS is also be able to track dental provider behavior -identifying the clinician using the application, recording a time and date stamp each time the application is opened, recording which sections of the application are accessed and how much time is spent in each - thereby making it possible to evaluate healthcare delivery services, ensure quality treatment, and aid in the conduct of research.
This project has the potential to impact public health by improving dentists'knowledge and skills for tobacco and smoking cessation counseling. This will encourage patients to quit smoking/using tobacco, thus increasing overall public health, and reducing mortality and morbidity related to these habits.
