Evidence for smoking cessation: Implications for gender-specific strategies.
BACKGROUND
Facilitating smoking cessation requires an evidence-based approach. The Lienhard School of Nursing Institute for Healthy Aging in the United States, whose focus is providing health information to aging baby boomers, developed an interest in studying strategies for smoking cessation in women.


METHODS
Studies were reviewed and critiqued related to the question: What is the relative efficacy of first-line smoking cessation interventions for women versus men in the 40- to 65-year-old age group? This article first discusses the procedure used to construct an integrative framework for finding the evidence on smoking cessation, including a literature search and refinement of the problem to be studied, and then a summary of the evidence gathered on the selected variable (gender) and interventions (counseling, pharmacotherapy, nicotine replacement therapy).


RESULTS
Evidence was found that supports the general efficacy of three first-line smoking cessation interventions: counseling, bupropion-sustained release (BSR), and nicotine replacement therapy (NRT). What the evidence does not show, however, is which of these interventions may be more effective for women versus men in general or specifically in the 40- to 65-year-old age group.


CONCLUSIONS
Recommendations include the development of a clinical trial and the inclusion from the outset of gender as a major variable in all future intervention studies.


CONCLUSIONS
Practice implications include the fact that since effective treatments already exist for assisting clients to stop smoking, all health-care providers should offer an intervention that has been found effective to any client who expresses a desire to quit smoking. Further studies of efficacy are needed to develop more focused implications.
Singleton
Joanne K
JK
Institute for Healthy Aging, Pace University, New York, NY 10038, USA. jsingleton@pace.edu
Levin
Rona F
RF
Feldman
Harriet R
HR
Truglio-Londrigan
Marie
M
D018687:Antidepressive Agents, Second-Generation / Q000627:therapeutic use; D016642:Bupropion / Q000627:therapeutic use; D003376:Counseling; D019317:Evidence-Based Medicine; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009538:Nicotine / Q000627:therapeutic use; D012737:Sex Factors; D016540:Smoking Cessation / Q000379:methods*
D018687:Antidepressive Agents, Second-Generation; D016642:Bupropion; D009538:Nicotine