# Electronic Proactive Outreach for Smokers with COPD: Engaging patients to quit

> **NIH VA IK2** · MINNEAPOLIS VA  MEDICAL CENTER · 2024 · —

## Abstract

Overview: I am applying for a 5-year Career Development Award (CDA) to support my overarching goal of
increasing smoking cessation among patients with respiratory diseases. This will be accomplished through the
completion of mentored research activities and formal training designed to provide the skills necessary to
become an independent investigator. During the course of my award, I will develop and test a program of
proactive tobacco treatment for smokers with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), delivered
electronically and designed to increase participation in evidence-based tobacco treatments.
Significance: COPD is one of the most common conditions cared for by the Veterans Health Administration
and 90% of cases are directly attributable to smoking. Though the VA has made great strides in tobacco
control, patients with COPD continue to smoke at rates double the overall VA average. Treatment for tobacco
use disorder is the most impactful intervention for smokers with COPD. Unfortunately, smokers with COPD
remain undertreated for tobacco use. Proactive tobacco treatment programs, where smokers are
systematically identified outside of a routine visit, engaged in a cessation attempt, and connected to evidence-
based treatment, have been found to be effective for increasing smoking cessation and use of quit support,
and may be particularly beneficial for smokers with COPD. Proactive programs are rarely implemented,
possibly due to high associated workload. Using electronic communication such as secure messaging to
deliver this care may be effective without the cost and workload associated with previously tested telephone
outreach programs. The intervention developed in this CDA proposal has the potential for wide-reaching
impact, leveraging existing VA resources more efficiently to increase cessation in this high-risk population.
Career Plan: My primary area of research has focused on identifying gaps in care quality for patients with
COPD, particularly in tobacco cessation treatment. To successfully achieve my goals of improving utilization of
tobacco treatment for smokers with COPD, I need further mentored training in implementation science
including: qualitative and mixed methods, design and testing of behavioral tobacco interventions with a focus
on mobile health, and cost analysis. I will achieve these objectives through formal coursework, seminars, and
mentored research activities under the guidance of Steven Fu, MD MSCE (primary mentor, Minneapolis VA
Health Care System [MVAHCS]), Hildi Hagedorn, PhD (MVAHCS) and David Au, MD MS (VA Puget Sound).
Research Plan: My primary research objective is to develop and test an electronic proactive tobacco
treatment program for smokers with COPD. To execute this goal, I will complete the following projects: 1) a
mixed methods (survey and interview) assessment of current use of health information technology among
smokers with COPD to (A) inform the creation of a proactive tobacco treatment pro...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10934514
- **Project number:** 5IK2HX003067-05
- **Recipient organization:** MINNEAPOLIS VA  MEDICAL CENTER
- **Principal Investigator:** Anne Catherine Melzer
- **Activity code:** IK2 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** VA
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** —
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2020-08-01 → 2025-09-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10934514

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10934514, Electronic Proactive Outreach for Smokers with COPD: Engaging patients to quit (5IK2HX003067-05). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10934514. Licensed CC0.

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