Behavioral Economics Strategies Can Help Patients with Cancer Quit Smoking

Researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) found that behavioral economics strategies can help patients quit smoking after being diagnosed with cancer. The study showed that electronic “nudges” directed at clinicians significantly increased the likelihood of patients with cancer who smoke to receive treatment for tobacco use, thus improving health outcomes for these patients.

The study, “Cluster Randomized Pragmatic Clinical Trial Testing Behavioral Economic Implementation Strategies to Improve Tobacco Treatment for Patients With Cancer Who Smoke,” was published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology as part of the Penn Implementation Science Center in Cancer Control (ISC3), which is co-led by PC3I Director Justin Bekelman. Further information on the implications of these findings can be found in a press release by Penn Medicine.