A Phone-counseling smoking-cessation program for Chinese restaurant workers

BACKGROUND. Over two-thirds of men in China smoke. Those who immigrate to the United States to work in restaurants end up working long hours for low pay and living in isolation from the greater society. Most do not have the time, money or language skills to prepare for better jobs. Cigarette smoking is the most practical expressive outlet for many restaurant workers. PURPOSE. This collaboration of an academic research center with a community organization aimed to develop and assess an innovative phone-counseling smoking-cessation program based on Chinese values. METHODS. Field staff went door to door to Chinese restaurants to recruit 100 male restaurant workers to participate in nine proactive counseling calls in Chinese dialects. The counseling protocol was developed in an iterative manner using information discussed by counselors in case conferences, emphasizing Chinese culture. Six months after the final counseling session, a research interviewer called each participant to assess his smoking status and opinion of the program. Outcome data, including multiple smoking status measures, are being analyzed with SPSS, and qualitative assessments of counselors' case notes with NVivo7 software. RESULTS. A 27-module protocol integrating Chinese and Western concepts was developed. Among the first 32 participants who completed the program, 15 (46.9%) quit smoking; another 12 (37.5%) reduced consumption by 50%. The cessation process differed from that reported for other populations (e.g., withdrawal symptoms were rare). Results for all participants will be presented. DISCUSSION. Smoking cessation was facilitated by (1) holistic counseling, and (2) calls accommodating participants' difficult work schedules.