The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA

4087.0: Tuesday, November 12, 2002 - Board 8

Abstract #44330

Tailored interventions for smoking cessation: A pilot study

Meghan O'Connell, MPH, Sean Lucan, Wendy Chan, MPH, Ming-Chin Yeh, PhD, and David L Katz, MD, MPH. Yale-Griffin Prevention Research Center, 130 Division Street, Derby, CT 06418, 203-732-1265, meghan.oconnell@yalegriffinprc.org

Purpose: To demonstrate that smoking cessation interventions tailored to individual subjects’ impediment profiles increase one-year quit rates compared to best historical results. Method: An impediment profiler instrument was developed based upon validated instruments related to each of the seven commonly reported barriers to smoking cessation. A cohort of 19 adult smokers rated their personal impediments to quitting. Measurement scales were used to assign subjects to between one and seven tailored interventions. Results: A 42% biochemically validated one-year quit rate was recorded. During a mid-year survey, the majority of subjects assigned to the following interventions rated each as either “very helpful or extremely helpful” for aiding smoking cessation: antidepressant medication; anti-anxiety medication; nicotine replacement therapy; group counseling sessions; stress management sessions; and YMCA membership. Forty percent of participants attending weight management and 40% of treadmill users rated these interventions as “very helpful” or “extremely helpful”, while 0% reported that counseling with family members who smoke was helpful. The most favored intervention was group counseling, 86% of participants rated the sessions “very helpful” or “extremely helpful.” Data from year-end surveys are not yet available. Conclusions: Targeting therapies for each of the 7 commonly reported impediments to quitting smoking may have resulted in the high quit rates achieved in the study. However, although some participants took advantage of the variety of intervention components offered, many relied solely upon group counseling sessions. Whether or not simply the availability of more comprehensive assistance may have impacted on participants’ ability to quit smoking is uncertain.

Learning Objectives:

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.

Smoking Cessation and Tobacco Control Research and Programs Poster Session

The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA