Randomized trials on consider this, a tailored, internet-delivered smoking prevention program for adolescents.
The Internet may be an effective medium for delivering smoking prevention to children. Consider This, an Internet-based program, was hypothesized to reduce expectations concerning smoking and smoking prevalence. Group-randomized pretest-posttest controlled trials were conducted in Australia (n = 2,077) and the United States (n = 1,234) in schools containing Grades 6 through 9. Australian children using Consider This reported reduced 30-day smoking prevalence. This reduction was mediated by decreased subjective norms. The amount of program exposure was low in many classes, but program use displayed a dose-response relationship with reduced smoking prevalence. American children only reported lower expectations for smoking in the future. Intervening to prevent smoking is a challenge, and this data suggest small benefits from an Internet-based program that are unlikely to be of practical significance unless increased by improved implementation. Implementation remains the major challenge to delivering interventions via the Internet, both for health educators and researchers.
Buller
David B
DB
The Cancer Council Victoria, Carlton South,Victoria, Australia. dbuller@kleinbuendel.com
Borland
Ron
R
Woodall
W Gill
WG
Hall
John R
JR
Hines
Joan M
JM
Burris-Woodall
Patricia
P
Cutter
Gary R
GR
Miller
Caroline
C
Balmford
James
J
Starling
Randall
R
Ax
Bryan
B
Saba
Laura
L
D000293:Adolescent; D001315:Australia; D002648:Child; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003469:Culture; D005260:Female; D006266:Health Education / Q000379:methods*; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D020407:Internet; D008297:Male; D015337:Multicenter Studies as Topic; D015397:Program Evaluation; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; D012907:Smoking / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology; D000074606:Smoking Prevention; D014481:United States