Effectiveness of Nicotine Withdrawal Symptoms Management Program Using LINE Application to Increase Self-Efficacy for Industrial Workers

Background: Smoking is a risk factor for chronic diseases. A combination of tobacco use with occupational hazards among industrial workers could increase the risk of occupational disease and injury. Nicotine is known to be highly addictive. It is difficult not only to maintain the decrease in smoking but also to continue quitting tobacco use. Moreover, nicotine withdrawal can be challenging and lead to failure in the smoking cessation process. Self-efficacy theory has been used recently for the development of effective smoking cessation programs. Objective: To develop an online nicotine withdrawal symptoms management program based on self-efficacy theory and examine its effectiveness. Materials and Methods: A quasi-experimental design with a control group pretest-posttest design was used. The sample consisted of male employees working in a consumer product manufacturing industry in Bangkok. An intervention group (n=28) received an online nicotine withdrawal symptoms management program via LINE application based on self-efficacy theory for one month. In comparison, participants in the control group (n=29) received a conventional smoking cessation program. The effectiveness of the intervention on nicotine withdrawal symptoms, cigarette craving, self-efficacy perception of nicotine withdrawal management, cigarette rolls per day, nicotine dependence level, exhaled carbon monoxide level, and smoking cessation behavior the first and fourth week were examined using a repeated-measures analysis of variance. Results: At one-month follow-up, there were significant differences between the two groups on nicotine withdrawal symptoms score, cigarette craving level, self-efficacy perception of nicotine withdrawal management, cigarette rolls per day, nicotine addiction level, exhaled carbon monoxide level, and smoking cessation behaviors (p<0.001). In addition, there was a significant difference in the self-reported nicotine withdrawal symptoms score in terms of irritability, anger, anxiety, concentration deficit, depression, and insomnia (p<0.001) between groups, between times, and between times and groups (p<0.001). Conclusion: Nicotine withdrawal symptoms management program using LINE application is effective in encouraging smoking cessation. Keywords: Smoking cessation; Nicotine withdrawal symptoms; LINE application; Industrial workers

Exercise Capacity and Acute Effect of Exercise on Affect in a Substance Use Disorder Population

ABSTRACT Background It is known that exercise is beneficial to people with substance use disorder, however little evidence exists regarding their exercise capacity. This pilot study investigates the exercise capacity of patients with substance use disorder and effects of an acute bout of exercise on affect. Methods Twenty-nine participants admitted to a withdrawal management facility were recruited to complete a health and exercise assessment (18 females, 11 males; 41 ± 11 years old). Mood was measured before and after exercise assessments using the subjective experience to exercise scale. Data was grouped by sex, and descriptive analyses were performed against age-matched normative data. Within group, before and after subjective experience to exercise scale measures were analyzed using 2-way ANOVA with sex as a between subject factor. Results Participants ranged from having 2 to 6 modifiable cardiovascular risk factors. Participants performed below average compared to age-matched and sex-matched normative data for the 6-minute walk test (females: 539 ± 54 m, males: 606 ± 89 m); and push-up test (females: 22% good, males: 36% good). Of the 29 participants, 29% failed to achieve the average range for sex-matched norms in the sit-to-stand test. However, all participants achieved above average for curl-ups, and 72% achieved an average or above score in the step-up test. Exercise significantly increased wellbeing (P &lt; 0.001, effect size = 1.12) and decreased psychological distress (P = 0.045, effect size = 1.03) and fatigue (P &lt; 0.001, effect size = 1.32). Conclusion Exercise is both feasible and beneficial in a withdrawal management setting. Capacity to perform exercise was generally poor with high individual variance. Design of future interventions will need tailored prescription for patients in this population.

Patient characteristics predicting attendance for elective in-patient treatment of substance use disorder

Objective: Consumption of alcohol and other drugs constitutes a significant health burden. Treatment access is poor, and a number of barriers are recognised. The objective of this retrospective cohort study is to examine patient characteristics of those attending/not attending for elective in-patient withdrawal management (IWM). Methods: Records of all elective admissions for IWM between 1 March and 30 June 2019 were reviewed. Data were extracted on attendance, age, substance(s) used, pre-arranged rehabilitation admissions following discharge, wait time, legal issues and child welfare agency involvement. Results: Of 274 planned admissions, 193 (70%) attended. Attendance was predicted by residential treatment planned after withdrawal management and older age. People using amphetamines were less likely to attend. Conclusion: There are low attendance rates for elective IWM. Patient characteristics predicting lower attendance include younger age, amphetamine use and not planning rehabilitation. Further research is required to improve attendance.