title: Community-based group intervention for tobacco cessation in rural Tamil Nadu, India: a cluster randomized trial.
abstract: The objective of this study was to determine the efficacy of community-based group intervention for tobacco cessation. We recruited 400 men (20-40 years) currently using any form of tobacco from 20 villages of the Indian State of Tamil Nadu and randomized them equally into intervention and control groups. A physician offered two sessions of health education 5 weeks apart along with self-help material on tobacco cessation to the intervention group. The control group received only self-help material. The contents of the sessions included tobacco-related health problems, benefits of quitting, and coping strategies for withdrawal symptoms. Follow-up data were available for 92%. Self-reported point prevalence abstinence of 12.5% in the intervention group was significantly higher than the 6.0% in the control group at 2 months. Community-based group intervention has the potential to increase the coverage of tobacco cessation services for men in rural Tamil Nadu.
authors.affiliation: Achutha Menon Centre for Health Science Studies, Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology, Trivandrum, Kerala, South India. drsanthosmph09@gmail.com
authors.forename: Muthusamy Santhosh
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Kumar
authors.forename: P Sankara
authors.initials: PS
authors.lastname: Sarma
authors.forename: Kavumpurathu Raman
authors.initials: KR
authors.lastname: Thankappan
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D016000:Cluster Analysis; D003153:Community Health Services / Q000458:organization & administration*; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006266:Health Education / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D007194:India; D008297:Male; D011615:Psychotherapy, Group / Q000379:methods; D019035:Rural Health Services / Q000458:organization & administration*; D055502:Secondary Prevention; D012648:Self Care / Q000379:methods; D013997:Time Factors; D020340:Tobacco Use Cessation / Q000379:methods*; D014029:Tobacco Use Disorder / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D055815:Young Adult