Use and effectiveness of buddy support in a self-help smoking cessation program.
Purpose.  This study assesses buddy support in a community-based, minimal-contact smoking cessation program. Design.  Telephone interviews with participants (n=641, response=74%) before and after (end-of-program, n=1,023, response=83%; three months n=757, response=74%; six months, n=859, response=84%; and 12 months, n=713, response=70%) intervention provided the data to be analyzed. Setting.  The Chicago metropolitan area was the setting. Subjects.  Subjects were a random sample of registrants for the intervention program. Intervention.  A self-help smoking cessation program was used, which included a manual and complementary televised segments.  Engaging a buddy was optional. Measures.  Background and psychosocial characteristics of participants, characteristics of buddies, program compliance, and smoking behavior were the measures used. Results.  Almost one third (30.3%) engaged a buddy.  Those most likely to engage a buddy were female (33.4%), younger than 30 (37.2%), educated beyond high school (33.4%), highly determined to quit (41.8%), and more likely to need help from others (39.8%).  More than half of the buddies were from outside the participant's household (55.1%), and more than half were nonsmokers (60.9%).  Having a buddy was associated positively with manual use (gamma=.38), viewing televised segments (gamma=.23), recalling manual segments (gamma=.33), and recalling televised segments (gamma=.26).  Among those who read the manual least, having a buddy was associated with viewing televised segments (gamma=.26, p less than .05) and with end-of-program quitting (16.8% vs. 9.8%, p less than .05). Having a buddy also was associated with higher abstinence through 12 months (5.8% vs. 2.7%, p=.013).  Among those with lower determination, the end-of-program quit rate was more than three times greater (p=.013) for those with a buddy (16.1%) than without a buddy (5.2%). Participants whose buddy was their spouse or partner were more likely to quit at end-of-program (29.1% vs. 18.4%, p=.031). Conclusions.  Buddy support should be promoted as an adjunct to minimal-contact smoking cessation programs.  Impact of buddy support might be improved by guiding participants in choosing a buddy.
School of Public Health, Community Health Sciences, University of Illinois at Chicago, 60612-7247.
F J
FJ
Kviz
K S
KS
Crittenden
K J
KJ
Madura
R B
RB
Warnecke
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010349:Patient Compliance; D015397:Program Evaluation; D016540:Smoking Cessation; D012944:Social Support; D016896:Treatment Outcome