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APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Manoj Sharma, PhD, Health Promotion & Education, University of Cincinnati & Walden University, Teachers College 526 J, P. O. Box 210002, Cincinnati, OH 45221-0002, (513) 556-3878, manoj.sharma@uc.edu and David E. Corbin, PhD, School of Health, Physical Education, & Recreation, University of Nebraska at Omaha, 6001 Dodge Street, Omaha, NE 68182-0216.

The purpose of this study was to test an innovative yoga-based behavioral intervention for smoking cessation based on social cognitive theory and compare it with an existing self-help based program. In both the groups, the antecedents of quitting based on social cognitive theory, namely, self-efficacy for quitting and self-control for quitting were tracked for six months along with self-reported daily consumption of cigarettes, self-efficacy for yoga, and past week performance of yoga behaviors. A valid and reliable 23-item instrument was utilized. The study employed an experimental design. Twenty one participants were recruited in this study after informed consent and randomly assigned to the two groups. The social cognitive theory-based yoga intervention consisted of learning and practicing a set of low physical impact postures (asanas), breathing techniques (pranayama), relaxation (shava asana), and meditation (dhyana) that were taught in small steps (to ensure mastery). The control group was provided with self-help consumer guide, “You can quit smoking.” Seven (33.3%) participants completed the study protocol and one participant who was in the yoga group was successful in quitting smoking. Statistically significant improvements occurred in the social cognitive-theory based yoga group over the self-help group for self-control for quitting (p < 0.001) and performance of yoga behaviors (p < 0.05). This pilot study suggested that a social cognitive theory based yoga intervention was more efficacious in influencing the antecedents of smoking cessation than a self-help approach. This study lends support for testing future interventions that utilize yoga as a behavioral method for smoking cessation.

Learning Objectives: At the end of the presentation the participants will be able to

• Delineate the pros and cons of social cognitive theory based yoga intervention for smoking cessation.
• Design similar studies for testing efficacy of yoga-based interventions for cessation of smoking and other addictive behaviors.
• Replicate the valid and reliable instruments and yoga intervention used in this study in their settings.
• Discuss the implications for effectiveness testing of this intervention.

Keywords: Alternative Medicine/Therapies, Smoking Cessation

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Not Answered

Handout (.ppt format, 96.5 kb)