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APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Recorded presentation

Vance Rabius, PhD¹, K. Joanne Pike, MA, LPC¹, Angela Geiger, MBA¹, Joseph Hunter, BA¹, Alfred McAlister, PhD², and Dawn Wiatrek, PhD¹. (1) Health Promotions, American Cancer Society, 1825-B Kramer Lane, Suite 200, Austin, TX 78758, 512-651-4691, vrabius@cancer.org, (2) Center for Health Promotion and Prevention Research, University of Texas School of Public Health, 7000 Fannin Suite 2558, Houston, TX 77030

Smokers (n=6,451) visiting the American Cancer Society's internet site offering cessation assistance were, after providing consent and meeting eligibility criteria, randomized to receive access to a static internet site with quitting advice or to one of five interactive sites provided by the following cooperating research partners: Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Oregon Center for Applied Science, QuitNet, ProChange, and SmokeClinic. Follow-up surveys were conducted via online survey with email prompts and telephone calls to assess quitting success. At three-month follow-up 54% provided follow-up data. Three-month results showed no significant overall difference in cessation rates among participants assigned to the interactive or static sites. There were however large differences in the utilization of the five interactive sites. When sites were grouped by level of use, there was a significantly higher reported three-month cessation rate among participants assigned to the more highly utilized sites than among those assigned to the less utilized sites (12.2% vs. 10.2% of all randomized participants, 26.0% vs. 22.1% of followed participants). Medication use was assessed at follow-up. 40.0% of respondents reported using medications (NRT or bupropion) in their cessation attempt. There were no significant differences among the six sites in the proportion of respondents indicating medication use. Medication use was associated with significantly higher quit rates (30.5% vs. 18.9% of followed participants). Three-month findings indicated that interactive internet sites yielding high levels of utilization can increase quitting success among smokers seeking assistance via the internet. Six-month results will also be presented at this meeting.

Learning Objectives:

• This session will enable learners to discuss evaluation methods and results for Internet-based assistance for smoking cessation.

Keywords: Tobacco Control, Internet Tools

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Any relevant financial relationships? No

Recorded presentation