The Emergence of a Sustainable Tobacco Treatment Program across the Cancer Care Continuum: A Systems Approach for Implementation at the University of California Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center

• Main Authors: Elisa K. Tong, Terri Wolf, David T. Cooke, Nathan Fairman, Moon S. Chen, Jr.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2020-05-01
• Series: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
• Subjects: tobacco cessation; cancer care continuum; implementation research
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/17/9/3241
• ISSN: 1661-7827; 1660-4601

Tobacco treatment is increasingly recognized as important to cancer care, but few cancer centers have implemented sustainable tobacco treatment programs. The University of California Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center (UCD CCC) was funded to integrate tobacco treatment into cancer care. Lessons learned from the UCD CCC are illustrated across a systems framework with the Cancer Care Continuum and by applying constructs from the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research. Findings demonstrate different motivational drivers for the cancer center and the broader health system. Implementation readiness across the domains of the Cancer Care Continuum with clinical entities was more mature in the Prevention domain, but Screening, Diagnosis, Treatment, and Survivorship domains demonstrated less implementation readiness despite leadership engagement. Over a two-year implementation process, the UCD CCC focused on enhancing information and knowledge sharing within the treatment domain with the support of the cancer committee infrastructure, while identifying available resources and adapting workflows for various cancer care service lines. The UCD CCC findings, while it may not be generalizable to all cancer centers, demonstrate the application of conceptual frameworks to accelerate implementation for a sustainable tobacco treatment program. Key common elements that may be shared across oncology settings include a state quitline for an adaptable intervention, cancer committees for outer/inner setting infrastructure, tobacco quality metrics for data reporting, and non-physician staff for integrated services.