The Implementation of Smoking Cessation Counseling in Substance Abuse Treatment

Research on the implementation of smoking cessation counseling within substance abuse treatment organizations is limited.
This study examines associations among counselors’ implementation of therapy sessions dedicated to smoking cessation, organizational
factors, and counselor-level variables. A two-level hierarchical linear model including organization- and counselor-level
variables was estimated using survey data collected from 1,794 counselors working in 359 treatment organizations. Overall
implementation of smoking cessation counseling was low. In the final model, implementation was positively associated with
counselors’ knowledge of the Public Health Service’s clinical practice guideline, perceived managerial support, and belief
that smoking cessation had a positive impact on recovery. Private versus public funding and presence of a formal smoking cessation
program were organization-level variables which interacted with these counselor-level effects. These results highlight the
importance of organizational contexts as well as counselors’ knowledge and attitudes for effective implementation of smoking
cessation counseling in substance abuse treatment organizations.