Are Single-session Smoking Cessation Groups a Feasible Option for Rural Australia? – Outcomes From a Pilot Study

Introduction: Single-session group smoking cessation interventions have received little attention in the literature.Aims: This study aimed to test the feasibility and outcomes of a single-session large group smoking cessation intervention in a rural area of New South Wales.Methods: Participants from a smoking cessation course (N = 42) were asked about cigarette consumption, quit attempts, and readiness and confidence to quit at registration and six months. The two-hour intervention occurred in a group setting and comprised of cognitive behaviour therapy and pharmacotherapy advice.Results: The analysis revealed a 26.2% (N = 11) quit rate based on self-report and/or carbon monoxide validation at 6 months (intention to treat). Those who quit all used pharmacotherapy: eight (73%) Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT); two (18%) varenicline and one (9%) bupropion with NRT. Seven people (17%) used medicines to reduce consumption of cigarettes. A paired samples t test of those still smoking showed a statistically significant decrease in the numbers of cigarettes smoked per day (p<.001).Conclusion: The quit rate of 26.2% from this large single-session smoking cessation course is comparable to that expected from groups having multiple sessions. As a pilot study, these data suggest that a multi-faceted single-session two-hour smoking cessation intervention can successfully support quit attempts in a rural location.

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Project reach: Piloting a risk-tailored smoking cessation intervention for lung screening

Journal of Health Psychology ◽

10.1177/1359105318756500 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 25 (10-11) ◽

pp. 1472-1482 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Inga T Lennes ◽

Christina M Luberto ◽

Alaina L Carr ◽

Daniel L Hall ◽

Nicole M Strauss ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Smoking Cessation ◽

Pilot Study ◽

Disease Risk ◽

Smoking Cessation Intervention ◽

Self Report ◽

Post Intervention ◽

Cessation Intervention ◽

Lung Screening

The purpose of this study was to explore the feasibility, acceptability, and efficacy of a telephone-based smoking cessation intervention for lung screening patients. Participants ( N = 39) were enrolled in a single-arm pilot study of a four-session telephone-based intervention. Self-report measures were completed at baseline, post-intervention, and 3-month follow-up. Participants were long-term smokers; 62 percent were not motivated to quit. Twenty-three percent attempted quitting, 29 percent decreased their smoking, and 11 percent reported abstinence. Confidence increased ( p < .001) and there were trends toward increased importance ( p = .09) and comparative disease risk ( p = .02). This intervention was acceptable and associated with improvements in smoking-related beliefs and behaviors.

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The Impact of a Brief Intervention on Maternal Smoking Behavior

PEDIATRICS ◽

10.1542/peds.105.s2.267 ◽

2000 ◽

Vol 105 (Supplement_2) ◽

pp. 267-271

Author(s):

Judith A. Groner ◽

Karen Ahijevych ◽

Lindsey K. Grossman ◽

Leslie N. Rich

Keyword(s):

Smoking Cessation ◽

Controlled Trial ◽

Safety Information ◽

Stage Of Change ◽

Smoking Cessation Intervention ◽

Control Group ◽

Primary Care Center ◽

Cessation Intervention ◽

Quit Rate ◽

The Impact

Objective. To determine if mothers receiving a smoking cessation intervention emphasizing health risks of environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) for their children have a higher quit rate than 1) mothers receiving routine smoking cessation advice or 2) a control group. Design. Randomized, controlled trial. Setting. Primary care center in a large urban children's hospital. Intervention. Four hundred seventy-nine mothers were randomly assigned to a smoking cessation intervention either aimed at their child's health or their own health, or to a control group receiving safety information. Outcome Measures. Smoking status, stage of change, cigarettes/day, location smoking occurred, and knowledge of ETS effects. Results. Complete data (baseline and both follow-ups) were available for 166 subjects. There was no impact of group assignment on the quit rate, cigarettes/day, or stage of change. The Child Health Group intervention had a sustained effect on location where smoking reportedly occurred (usually outside) and on improved knowledge of ETS effects. Conclusions. Further research is needed to devise more effective methods of using the pediatric health care setting to influence adult smoking behaviors.

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Dropout, response, and abstinence outcomes of a national text-messaging smoking cessation intervention for teens, SmokeFreeTeen

Translational Behavioral Medicine ◽

10.1093/tbm/ibaa069 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Charmaine Chan ◽

Kristyn Kamke ◽

Freda Assuah ◽

Sherine El-Toukhy

Keyword(s):

Smoking Cessation ◽

Text Messaging ◽

Cox Regression ◽

Smoking Status ◽

Smoking Cessation Intervention ◽

Cox Regression Analysis ◽

Cessation Intervention ◽

Quit Attempts ◽

The Usa

Abstract Although text-messaging interventions are effective for smoking cessation, few target teens in the USA and little is known about their effectiveness. The purpose of this manuscript is to examine correlates of dropout, response to smoking status prompts, and abstinence rates among subscribers of SmokeFreeTeen, a free, publicly available text-messaging smoking cessation intervention sponsored by the National Cancer Institute’s SmokeFree.Gov initiative, on quit day through 1 month follow-up. In a sample of teens (N = 2,685), aged 13–19, we examined demographics, smoking frequency, cigarettes smoked per day, prequit intervention time (i.e., maximum of 14 days of prequit day preparation), and number of quit attempts as correlates of response and abstinence rates among program initiators (i.e., participants who reached quit day but dropped out on or before intervention end) and completers (i.e., participants who reached quit day and completed the intervention). We also conducted Cox regression analysis of time from quit day to dropout by daily and nondaily smoking status. Two-thirds (n = 1,733, 64.54%) dropped out before the intervention ended, with dropout rates peaking on quit day (n = 289, 13.10%). Response rate to smoking status prompts remained below 30% throughout the intervention. At intervention end and 1 month follow-up, abstinence was 2.63% and 2.55% among program initiators, whereas abstinence was 6.09% and 6.01% among program completers. Dropout, response, and abstinence rates did not consistently differ by subscriber characteristics. Prequit time was associated with decreased likelihood of dropping out (adjusted hazards ratio: 0.94, confidence interval [CI]: 0.93–0.95), responding to smoking status prompts (adjusted odds ratio [aOR]: 0.94, CI: 0.92–0.96), and being abstinent (aOR: 0.96, CI: 0.93–0.99) on quit day. Two or more quit attempts were associated with increased response (aOR: 1.61, CI: 1.16–2.23) and abstinence (aOR: 1.91, CI: 1.25–2.92) rates on Day 7. In a first assessment of SmokeFreeTeen outcomes, we document high dropouts and low response and abstinence rates. SmokeFreeTeen produced abstinence rates lower than comparable text-messaging interventions targeting teens and young adults. Improving SmokeFreeTeen’s reach, engagement, and effectiveness is needed.

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Effects of a Mobile App Called Quittr, Which Utilizes Premium Currency and Games Features, on Improving Engagement With Smoking Cessation Intervention: Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial (Preprint)

10.2196/preprints.23734 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Ivan Bindoff ◽

Tristan R Ling ◽

Peter Gee ◽

Benjamin Geelan ◽

Stuart G Ferguson ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Randomized Controlled Trial ◽

Smoking Cessation ◽

Controlled Trial ◽

Intervention Group ◽

Smoking Cessation Intervention ◽

Control Group ◽

Randomized Controlled ◽

Cessation Intervention ◽

Quit Rate ◽

Mhealth Apps

BACKGROUND Numerous mobile health (mHealth) apps have been developed to support smokers attempting to quit smoking. Although these apps have been reported to be successful, only modest improvements in the quit rate have been measured. It has been proposed that efforts to improve user engagement and retention may improve the quit rate further. Owing to the high cost of smoking-related disease, it is considered worthwhile to pursue even small improvements. OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to test a novel smartphone app that leverages premium currency strategies developed by the mobile games industry in an attempt to improve engagement and retention with a smoking cessation intervention. METHODS We designed and developed a smoking cessation app called “Quittr” in line with previously developed smoking cessation mHealth apps. In addition to this established framework, we added a stand-alone fully featured city-building clicker-style game called “Tappy Town,” and a premium virtual currency called “QuitCoins.” The user earns QuitCoins for using the app in a way that contributes positively toward their quit attempt, and they can redeem these coins in Tappy Town for bonuses. To establish whether these features improved engagement and retention, we ran a 5-month randomized controlled trial where the intervention group had the full app with the extra games features, while the control group had the standard app only. Recruitment was performed via web-based advertising. Participants (N=175) had no direct contact with the researchers or other support staff. RESULTS No significant differences in terms of engagement, retention, or smoking outcomes were found between the control and intervention groups. However, survey data indicated that the majority of the participants valued Tappy Town (10/17, 59%) and the QuitCoins rewards system (13/17, 77%). Usage data also suggested that Tappy Town was widely played and was generally appealing to users (mean total time spent in app, control group: 797 seconds vs intervention group: 3502 seconds, <i>P<</i>.001). Analysis of the results suggests that users in the intervention group may have been negatively affected by the aspects of the chosen design, and some theories were explored to explain this unexpected outcome. CONCLUSIONS Although the novel features of the Quittr app failed to improve the key outcomes measured in this study, there were enough positive indications to warrant further exploration of the concept. Additional research will be required to identify and correct any design flaws that may have adversely affected our participants before a follow-up study can be completed. CLINICALTRIAL Australian and New Zealand Clinical Trials Register ACTRN12617000491369; https://www.anzctr.org.au/Trial/Registration/TrialReview.aspx?id=372661&isReview=true

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