Yukon
Smoking cessation in cancer care
Access to smoking cessation supports in cancer care settings in 2022-23
- The cancer care and surgical clinics in Yukon, located at Whitehorse General Hospital,* offer people with cancer support to quit smoking, including culturally appropriate supports for First Nations, Inuit and Métis with cancer.
- Clinic staff screen people with cancer for commercial tobacco use, advise them to quit smoking and, using an opt-out approach, refer them to Quitpath, a commercial tobacco cessation program run by the Government of Yukon.
- People can access Quitpath at the hospital, at health centres, and by phone. The program provides behavioural counselling and free nicotine replacement therapy to all residents, including people with cancer.
Smoking cessation in cancer care implementation level in 2022-23: GOLD
| Quality dimension | Implementation criteria met | Level |
|---|---|---|
| Behavioural counselling | Offers 3A (Ask, Advise, Act) or 5A (Ask, Advise, Assess, Assist, Arrange) model with an opt-out approach and mechanisms for relapse prevention, follow-up and extension of support to family and friends | GOLD |
| Pharmacotherapy | Offers free nicotine replacement therapy | GOLD |
| Person-centred | Assessing the availability of a patient representative to participate in program planning | PRE-IMPLEMENTATION |
| Culturally competent | Offers staff cultural competency training and resources for people with cancer | SILVER |
| Partnership | Works with multi-disciplinary team and community partners, with mechanisms for information sharing to track people’s progress | GOLD |
| Indicator measurement and reporting | Collects and reports on adoption, uptake and outcome data | SILVER |
Impact of funded project (2019-21)
- Funding and support enabled the Quitpath program in the Government of Yukon to partner with Whitehorse General Hospital to develop and implement a system in which people at the cancer care and surgical clinics could receive smoking cessation support in conjunction with their cancer treatment.
- Partners worked collaboratively to set up the 3A model, including a referral pathway from the clinics to the Quitpath program and a data collection system.
- Quitpath staff also began work with First Nations communities to enhance the cultural competency of its smoking cessation services.
*Many people in Yukon requiring cancer care receive part of their care in British Columbia or Alberta.