Evaluating the effectiveness of a single telephone contact as an adjunct to a self-help intervention for smoking cessation in a randomized controlled trial.
This study evaluated the effects of including a single brief prequit telephone counseling session in a self-help program for smoking cessation conducted through the mail, by comparison with the effects of the self-help program alone. Volunteer participants from northwestern Spain (N = 228) were randomly assigned to one of two groups: (a) the self-help-only group (n = 110, mean age = 37.4 years, pretreatment cigarette consumption = 26.5 cigarettes/day) or (b) the telephone-support group (n = 118, mean age = 36.8 years, pretreatment cigarette consumption = 27.7 cigarettes/day). Using a conservative data analysis method (missing data considered as treatment failures), we found that the point-prevalence abstinence rate was significantly higher in the telephone-support group than in the self-help-only group at the end of treatment (44.9% vs. 21.8%) and at the 3-month follow-up (39.0% vs. 26.4%). Likewise, sustained abstinence was significantly higher in the telephone-support group at the 3-month follow-up (33.9% vs. 13.6%), the 6-month follow-up (25.4% vs. 12.7%), and the 12-month follow-up (21.2% vs. 9.1%). The results of this randomized controlled trial indicate that both treatments are an effective aid for smoking cessation, and that a single brief telephone call before the quit date is a low-cost and effective procedure for improving abstinence rates in a mailed self-help program.
Míguez
M Carmen
MC
University of Santiago de Compostela, Faculty of Psychology, Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychobiology, Santiago de Compostela, Spain. pcmcm@usc.es
Becoña
Elisardo
E
D000328:Adult; D003376:Counseling / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010353:Patient Education as Topic; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D012657:Self-Help Groups; D012907:Smoking / Q000523:psychology; D016540:Smoking Cessation / Q000379:methods*; D000074606:Smoking Prevention; D013030:Spain; D013689:Telephone; D013997:Time Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome