Effects of practitioner education, practitioner payment and reimbursement of patients' drug costs on smoking cessation in primary care: a cluster randomised trial.
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate new strategies to enhance the promotion of smoking cessation in general practice.


METHODS
Cluster randomised trial, 2x2 factorial design.


METHODS
82 medical practices in Germany, including 94 general practitioners.


METHODS
577 patients who smoked at least 10 cigarettes per day (irrespective of their intention to stop smoking) and were aged 36-75 years.


METHODS
Provision of a 2-h physician group training in smoking cessation methods and direct physician payments for every participant not smoking 12 months after recruitment (TI, training+incentive); provision of the same training and direct participant reimbursements for pharmacy costs associated with nicotine replacement therapy or bupropion treatment (TM, training+medication).


METHODS
Self-reported smoking abstinence obtained at 12 months follow-up and validated by serum cotinine.


RESULTS
In intention-to-treat analysis, smoking abstinence at 12 months follow-up was 3% (2/74), 3% (5/144), 12% (17/140) and 15% (32/219) in the usual care, and interventions TI, TM and TI+TM, respectively. Applying a mixed logistic regression model, no effect was identified for intervention TI (odds ratio (OR) 1.26, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.65 to 2.43), but intervention TM strongly increased the odds of cessation (OR 4.77, 95% CI 2.03 to 11.22).


CONCLUSIONS
Providing cost-free effective drugs to patients along with improved training opportunities for general practitioners could be an effective measure to achieve successful promotion of smoking cessation in general practice.
Twardella
Dorothee
D
Department of Epidemiology, German Center for Research on Ageing, Heidelberg, Germany.
Brenner
Hermann
H
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D016000:Cluster Analysis; D003367:Cotinine / Q000097:blood; D003695:Delivery of Health Care / Q000191:economics / Q000379:methods*; D005194:Family Practice; D005260:Female; D005858:Germany; D005102:Health Expenditures; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010821:Physicians, Family / Q000193:education; D011320:Primary Health Care; D012650:Self Disclosure; D016540:Smoking Cessation / Q000191:economics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*
D003367:Cotinine