Effects of COVID-19-Related Disruptions on Service Use in a Large Smoking Cessation Program.

ABSTRACT:

Introduction

The COVID-19 pandemic caused a rapid shift to virtual care, with largely unknown consequences for accessibility. The purpose of this study is to examine pandemic-related changes in use of care for smoking cessation.

Aims and methods

We conducted a secondary analysis 65 565 enrollments in a large smoking cessation program in Ontario, Canada. We used piecewise mixed-effects regression to examine how weeks nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) received, as well as counseling provided and visits attended, varied with date of enrollment over three time periods: more than 6 months before the pandemic began; the 6 months before the pandemic; and the pandemic period itself. We then examined changes in the associations between use of care and participant characteristics by

SUBMITTER: Veldhuizen S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9047198 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature