A controlled trial of an expert system and self-help manual intervention based on the stages of change versus standard self-help materials in smoking cessation. Evaluation of an intervention for hospitalized African American smokers. Size, consistency, and stability of stage effects for smoking cessation. Targeting smokers with low readiness to change with tailored and nontailored self-help materials. Long-term effectiveness of computer-generated tailored feedback in smoking cessation. Evaluating a population-based recruitment approach and a stage-based expert system intervention for smoking cessation. Standardized, individualized, interactive, and personalized self-help programs for smoking cessation. Counselor and stimulus control enhancements of a stage-matched expert system intervention for smokers in a managed care setting. A randomized trial of self-help materials, personalized feedback, and telephone counseling with nonvolunteer smokers. Effectiveness of a computer-tailored smoking cessation program: a randomized trial. The change-in-stage and updated smoking status results from a cluster-randomized trial of smoking prevention and cessation using the transtheoretical model among British adolescents. The effectiveness of a nursing inpatient smoking cessation program in individuals with cardiovascular disease. Evaluation of a minimal self-help smoking cessation intervention following cervical cancer screening. Cost effectiveness of computer tailored and non-tailored smoking cessation letters in general practice: randomised controlled trial. Effectiveness of a minimal contact smoking cessation program for Dutch general practitioners: a randomized controlled trial. Initial efficacy of MI, TTM tailoring and HRI's with multiple behaviors for employee health promotion. Effects of stage-matched repeated individual counseling on smoking cessation: A randomized controlled trial for the high-risk strategy by lifestyle modification (HISLIM) study. Randomized telephone smoking-intervention trial initially directed at blue-collar workers. Proactive interventions for smoking cessation in general medical practice: a quasi-randomized controlled trial to examine the efficacy of computer-tailored letters and physician-delivered brief advice. Stage-based expert systems to guide a population of primary care patients to quit smoking, eat healthier, prevent skin cancer, and receive regular mammograms. Multiple risk expert systems interventions: impact of simultaneous stage-matched expert system interventions for smoking, high-fat diet, and sun exposure in a population of parents. Teen reach: outcomes from a randomized, controlled trial of a tobacco reduction program for teens seen in primary medical care. Long-term effects (up to 18 months) of a smoking cessation program among women smokers in public health clinics. Does stage-based smoking cessation advice in pregnancy result in long-term quitters? 18-month postpartum follow-up of a randomized controlled trial. Extended telephone counseling for smoking cessation: does content matter? The effectiveness of personally tailored computer-generated advice letters for smoking cessation. A 2-year self-help smoking cessation manual intervention among middle-aged Finnish men: an application of the transtheoretical model. The effectiveness of personalized smoking cessation strategies for callers to a Quitline service. One-to-one: a motivational intervention for resistant pregnant smokers. Effect of smoking cessation counseling on recovery from alcoholism: findings from a randomized community intervention trial. Smoking cessation and relapse prevention for postpartum women: results from a randomized controlled trial at 6, 12, 18 and 24 months. "Look at your health": outcomes associated with a computer-assisted smoking cessation counseling intervention for community college students. The TEAM project: the effectiveness of smoking cessation intervention with hospital patients. Feasibility and effectiveness of a stages-of-change model in cigarette smoking cessation counseling. Computer-tailored smoking cessation intervention in a general population setting in Germany: outcome of a randomized controlled trial. Training support persons to help smokers quit: a pilot study. Stages of change and smoking cessation: a computer-administered intervention program for young adults. Development and process evaluation of a web-based smoking cessation program for college smokers: innovative tool for education. Acceptability and effectiveness of opportunistic referral of smokers to telephone cessation advice from a nurse: a randomised trial in Australian general practice.
To examine the population impact and effectiveness of the Pro-Change smoking cessation course based on the Transtheoretical Model (TTM) compared to standard self-help smoking cessation literature.
                Randomized controlled trial.
                Sixty-five West Midlands general practices.
                Randomly sampled patients recorded as smokers by their general practitioners received an invitation letter and 2471 current smokers agreed.
                Responders were randomized to one of four interventions. The control group received standard self-help literature. In the Manual intervention group, participants received the Pro-Change system, a self-help workbook and three questionnaires at 3-monthly intervals, which generated individually tailored feedback. In the Phone intervention group, participants received the Manual intervention plus three telephone calls. In the Nurse intervention group, participants received the Manual intervention plus three visits to the practice nurse.
                Biochemically confirmed point prevalence of being quit and 6-month sustained abstinence, 12 months after study commencement.
                A total of 9.1% of registered current smokers participated, of whom 83.0% were not ready to quit. Less than half of participants returned questionnaires to generate second and third individualized feedback. Telephone calls reached 75% of those scheduled, but few participants visited the nurse. There were small differences between the three Pro-Change arms. The odds ratio (95% confidence intervals) for all Pro-Change arms combined versus the control arm were 1.50 (0.85-2.67) and 1.53 (0.76-3.10), for point prevalence and 6-month abstinence, respectively. This constitutes 2.1% of the TTM group versus 1.4% of the control group achieving confirmed 6-month sustained abstinence.
                There was no statistically significant benefit of the intervention apparent in this trial and the high relapse of quitters means that any population impact is small. To evaluate the effectiveness of a smoking cessation intervention based on the transtheoretical model of change with a sample of low-income African American smokers admitted to an indigent-care hospital.
                The intervention incorporated components shown to be effective in increasing cessation in other populations, tailored to a bedside counseling format with follow-up contact postdischarge.
                Intervention patients were significantly more likely to advance in stage than were control patients.
                A hospital-offered bedside intervention offers promise in reaching underserved smokers with effective, though limited, cessation assistance. In the transtheoretical model (TTM), the stage effect is one of the most important determinants of health behavior change. Randomly assigned to 1 of 11 treatment conditions were 4653 smokers. A total of 66 stage effects were possible with 6 for each of the 11 treatment groups. The results suggest that brief stage-matched interventions that help populations progress one stage could produce 75% more abstinence. Interventions that help populations progress two stages could produce 300% more abstinence. The results also support the importance of replicating the stage effects across treatment conditions and over time. Few smoking cessation self-help materials are available for smokers who are not planning to quit. However, computer-tailored interventions can be designed specifically for these smokers.
                In a large randomized field trial (N = 843), two different tailored smoking cessation self-help interventions (multiple tailoring and single tailoring) and one standardized smoking cessation self-help guide were compared with a no-information control group and with each other. The contents of the tailored interventions were adapted to individuals' self-reported stage of change, outcome expectations, self-efficacy levels, and smoking behavior.
                The primary outcome measure was forward stage transition. The standardized self-help guide had no effect. Among smokers who were not planning to quit within the next 5 years the multiple-tailored intervention was more effective than the single-tailored intervention. This pattern was supported by the cognitive changes caused by the interventions. Among smokers who were planning to quit within the next 5 years but not within the next 6 months, none of the self-help materials had any effect.
                The present results show that the self-help material currently available in the Netherlands, the standardized self-help guide, was not effective among smokers with low readiness to change. However, computer-generated tailored interventions seem a promising means of communicating information on smoking and smoking cessation to these smokers. Although tailored interventions consisting of only a few pages of information lead to more quitting than no intervention in the short term, the long-term efficacy of a single tailored intervention still has to be proven. In the present study smokers were reactively recruited and randomly allocated to one of four intervention conditions: (1) outcome information, (2) self-efficacy enhancing information, (3) both sorts of information or (4) no information. Smokers in the three experimental groups received computer-generated tailored feedback containing the condition-specific information, by mail. The results from the 14 months follow-up can be summarized as follows. Compared to the no information condition, all three experimental conditions led to significantly more smokers who had engaged in 24-h quit attempts. However, no experimental condition led to more 7-day quitting than the no information condition. With regard to continuous abstinence, the experimental condition offering a combination of outcome information and self-efficacy enhancing information had a significant effect, compared to the no information condition. It is concluded that a minimal six-page tailored intervention can be beneficial in supporting smokers to quit smoking, even after 14 months. A stage-matched expert system intervention was evaluated on 4144 smokers in a two-arm randomized control trial with four follow-ups over 24 months. Smokers were recruited by random digit-dial calls, and 80.0% of the eligible smokers were enrolled. Individualized and interactive expert system computer reports were sent at 0, 3, and 6 months. The reports provided feedback on 15 variables relevant for progressing through the stages. The primary outcomes were point prevalence and prolonged abstinence rates. At 24 months, the expert system resulted in 25.6% point prevalence and 12% prolonged abstinence, which were 30% and 56% greater than the control condition. Abstinence rates at each 6-month follow-up were significantly greater in the Expert System (ES) condition than in the comparison condition with the absolute difference increasing at each follow-up. A proactive home-based stage-matched expert system smoking cessation program can produce both high participation rates and relatively high abstinence rates. Smokers (N = 756) were randomly assigned by stage of change to (a) standardized self-help manuals (ALA+ condition), (b) individualized manuals matched to stage (TTT condition), (c) interactive expert-system computer reports plus individualized manuals (ITT condition), or (d) a personalized condition with 4 counselor calls, stage manuals, and computer reports (PITT condition). Over 18 months, the ITT group's results more than doubled those of the ALA+ group on abstinence measures. The ALA+ and TTT conditions were equivalent over 12 months, but at 18 months the TTT condition was more effective. The ITT condition was the best or comparable with the best treatment at all follow-ups for smokers at all stages of change. Results suggest that an effective expert system has been developed, and discussion focuses on delivering this system to entire populations of smokers. Previous research has demonstrated the efficacy of an interactive expert system intervention for smoking cessation for a general population. The intervention provides individualized feedback that guides participants through the stages of change for cessation. Enhancing the expert system by adding proactive telephone counseling or a stimulus control computer designed to produce nicotine fading could produce preventive programs with greater population impacts.
                Four interventions were compared: (a) the interactive expert system intervention; (b) the expert system intervention plus counselor calls; (c) the expert system intervention plus the stimulus control computer; and (d) an assessment only condition. A 4 (intervention) x 4 (occasions) (0,6,12, and 18 months) design was used. Smokers were contacted at home via telephone or mail. The initial subject pool was the 24,178 members of a managed care company. Screening was completed for 19,236 members (79.6%), of whom 4,653 were smokers; 85.3% of the smokers were enrolled.
                Thirty-eight percent were in the precontemplation stage, 45% in the contemplation stage, and only 17% in the preparation stage. At 18 months, the expert system resulted in 23.2% point prevalence abstinence, which was 33% greater than that of assessment only. The counselor enhancement produced increased cessation at 12 months but not at 18 months. The stimulus control computer produced no improvement, resulting in 20% worse cessation rates than the assessment only condition.
                The enhanced conditions failed to outperform the expert system alone. The study also demonstrated the ability of the interactive expert system to produce significantly greater cessation in a population of smokers than assessment alone.
                Copyright 2000 American Health Foundation and Academic Press. The incremental effects of (a) a self-help booklet alone, (b) self-help booklet with computer-generated personalized feedback, and (c) self-help booklet, personalized feedback, and outreach telephone counseling were evaluated in a population-based, nonvolunteer sample of smokers. Smokers (N = 1,137) were identified through a telephone survey of a random sample of 5,903 enrollees in a health maintenance organization and randomized to a no-treatment control group or 1 of the 3 intervention conditions. Smoking status was ascertained 3, 12, and 21 months postrandomization. Cotinine validation of self-reported cessation was obtained at the 12-month follow-up. Overall, the telephone counseling significantly increased smoking cessation at the 3-month follow-up, but not at 12 or 21 months. Among smokers who were precontemplative at baseline, telephone counseling significantly increased prevalent abstinence at 3 and 12 months and continuous abstinence at 21 months (defined as self-reported abstinence at 3, 12, and 21 months). From a public health perspective, prevention of cancer and cardiovascular diseases requires effective smoking cessation programs that can be used on a large scale.
                To test the effectiveness of a new computer-tailored smoking cessation program vs no intervention.
                Randomized controlled trial, in the French-speaking part of Switzerland, September 20, 1998, to December 31, 1999. Potential participants were randomly selected from a general population register and recruited by mail. Daily cigarette smokers who wished to participate (N = 2934) were randomized to either the program or no intervention. A mean of 1.5 times per 6 months, participants in the active arm received by mail a computer-tailored counseling letter based on their answers to a questionnaire and stage-matched booklets. The counseling letters were tailored to the participants' stage of change (categorized as precontemplation [no intention of quitting smoking in the next 6 months], contemplation [seriously considers quitting in the next 6 months], or preparation [has decided to quit in the next 30 days]), level of tobacco dependence, self-efficacy, and personal characteristics. The outcome measure was self-reported abstinence (no puff of tobacco smoke in the past 4 weeks) 7 months after entry into the program.
                Abstinence was 2.6 times greater in the intervention group than in the control group (5.8% vs 2.2%, P<.001). The program was effective in "precontemplators" who were not motivated to quit smoking at baseline (intervention vs control, 3.8% vs 0.8%; P =.001) and was effective regardless of perceived difficulty in quitting smoking at baseline.
                The program was effective in increasing smoking cessation rates. Because it can reach a large number of smokers, this program can substantially contribute to disease prevention at a population level. The transtheoretical model (TTM) and computer technology are promising technologies for changing health behavior, but there is little evidence of their effectiveness among adolescents.
                Four thousand two hundred twenty-seven Year 9 (ages 13-14) pupils in 26 schools were randomly allocated to control and 4,125 in 26 schools were allocated to TTM intervention. TTM pupils received three whole class lessons and three sessions with an interactive computer program. Control pupils received no special intervention. Positive change in stage and smoking status was assessed from a questionnaire completed at baseline, 1 year, and 2 years. Random effects logistic regression was used to compare the change in stage and smoking status between the arms.
                Eighty-nine percent of the TTM group and 89.3% of the control group were present at 1-year and 86.0 and 83.1%, respectively, were present at 2-year follow-up. The adjusted odds ratio (95% confidence interval) for positive stage movement in the TTM relative to control was 1.13 (0.91-1.41) at 1 year and 1.25 (0.95-1.64) at 2 years and for regular smoking was 1.14 (0.93-1.39) at 1 year and 1.06 (0.86-1.31) at 2 years. Subgroup analysis by initial smoking status revealed no benefit for prevention or cessation.
                The intervention was ineffective.
                Copyright 2001 American Health Foundation and Academic Press. Smoking is an important risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD), and quitting is highly beneficial. Yet, less than 30% of CVD patients stop smoking. Relapse-prevention strategies seem most effective when initiated during the exacerbation of the disease.
                A nurse-delivered inpatient smoking cessation program based on the Transtheoretical Model with telephone follow-up tailored to levels of readiness to quit smoking was evaluated on smoking abstinence and progress to ulterior stages of change.
                Participants (N = 168) were randomly assigned by cohorts to inpatient counseling with telephone follow-up, inpatient counseling, and usual care. The inpatient intervention consisted of a 1-hr counseling session, and the telephone follow-up included 6 calls during the first 2 months after discharge. The nursing intervention was tailored to the individual's stage of change. End points at 2 and 6 months included actual and continuous smoking cessation rates (biochemical markers) and increased motivation (progress to ulterior stages of change).
                Assuming that surviving patients lost to follow-up were smokers, the 6-month smoking abstinence rate was 41.5% in the inpatient counseling with telephone follow-up group, compared with 30.2% and 20% in the inpatient counseling and usual care groups, respectively (p = .05). Progress to ulterior stages of change was 43.3%, 32.1%, and 18.2%, respectively (p = .02). Stage of change at baseline and intervention predicted smoking status at 6 months.
                This tailored smoking cessation program with telephone follow-up significantly increased smoking cessation at 6 months, and progression to ulterior stages of change. The telephone follow-up was an important adjunct. It is, therefore, recommended to include such comprehensive smoking cessation programs within hospital settings for individuals with CVD. This study was undertaken to evaluate a smoking cessation intervention provided to women smokers as follow-up to cervical cancer screening.
                Women who had had a Pap test in the prior month (N = 4,053) were called to complete a survey that assessed smoking status; 580 identified smokers were randomized to receive Usual care (n = 292) or a Self-help intervention (n = 288) that included a self-help booklet, a smoking and reproductive health information card, and three telephone counseling calls. Women were followed up at 6 and 15 months post-base line.
                Cessation rates in the Usual care (UC) and Self-help (SH) groups did not differ at the 6-month (UC 10.5% vs SH 10.9%, P = 0.56) or 15-month follow-up (UC 15.5% vs SH 10.6%, P = 0.17). Among women with an abnormal Pap test result there were no differences by study group in cessation rates at 6-month (UC 9.8% vs SH 11.0%, P = 0.71) or 15-month follow-up (UC 14.6% vs SH 13.4%, P = 0.96).
                Integrating interventions into the clinical setting and involving providers at the point of care may have greater potential for capitalizing on this "teachable moment."
                Copyright 1999 American Health Foundation and Academic Press. To develop and evaluate, in a primary care setting, a computerised system for generating tailored letters about smoking cessation.
                Randomised controlled trial.
                Six general practices in Aberdeen, Scotland.
                2553 smokers aged 17 to 65. Interventions: All participants received a questionnaire asking about their smoking. Participants subsequently received either a computer tailored or a non-tailored, standard letter on smoking cessation, or no letter.
                Prevalence of validated abstinence at six months; change in intention to stop smoking in the next six months.
                The validated cessation rate at six months was 3.5% (30/857) (95% confidence interval 2.3% to 4.7%) for the tailored letter group, 4.4% (37/846) (3.0% to 5.8%) for the non-tailored letter group, and 2.6% (22/850) (1.5% to 3.7%) for the control (no letter) group. After adjustment for significant covariates, the cessation rate was 66% greater (-4% to 186%; P=0.07) in the non-tailored letter group than that in the no letter group. Among participants who smoked <20 cigarettes per day, the cessation rate in the non-tailored letter group was 87% greater (0% to 246%; P=0.05) than that in the no letter group. Among heavy smokers who did not quit, a 76% higher rate of positive shift in "stage of change" (intention to quit within a particular period of time) was seen compared with those who received no letter (11% to 180%; P=0.02). The increase in cost for each additional quitter in the non-tailored letter group compared with the no letter group was pound 89.
                In a large general practice, a brief non-tailored letter effectively increased cessation rates among smokers. A tailored letter was not effective in increasing cessation rates but promoted shift in movement towards cessation ("stage of change") in heavy smokers. As a pragmatic tool to encourage cessation of smoking, a mass mailing of non-tailored letters from general practices is more cost effective than computer tailored letters or no letters. Until recently, Dutch general practitioners contributed little to tobacco control. This is due to several factors, among which is the lack of a feasible intervention program for adult smokers. Such a minimal contact behavioral intervention, using the Stage-of-Change concept, is now available. Effectiveness was tested in a randomized trial.
                Twenty-two general practitioners and their practice assistants were trained in applying the program. In all, 530 smoking patients were enrolled, randomly assigned to either the intervention or the usual treatment condition. Analysis of treatment effects was performed with logistic regression analysis. In a backward stepwise procedure confounding effects of baseline differences were eliminated.
                At 12-month follow-up, self-reported abstinence rates (including nonrespondents as smokers) differed significantly between intervention subjects and controls: 13.4 vs 7.3% point prevalence (odds ratio 1.51, P < 0.05). An analysis of consecutive abstinence, defined as being abstinent at both 6- and 12-month follow-up, showed that 8.2% of the intervention group compared to 3.1% of the controls had sustained abstinence for more than 6 months (odds ratio 3.04, P < 0.001).
                Results indicate that an effective smoking cessation program for use in Dutch general practice, already shown to be feasible, is now available. Outcomes are generally consistent with recent international literature.
                Copyright 2001 American Health Foundation and Academic Press. This study was designed to compare the initial efficacy of Motivational Interviewing (MI), Online Transtheoretical Model (TTM)-tailored communications and a brief Health Risk Intervention (HRI) on four health risk factors (inactivity, BMI, stress and smoking) in a worksite sample.
                A randomized clinical trial assigned employees to one of three recruitment strategies and one of the three treatments. The treatment protocol included an HRI session for everyone and in addition either a recommended three TTM online sessions or three MI in person or telephone sessions over 6 months. At the initial post-treatment assessment at 6 months, groups were compared on the percentage who had progressed from at risk to taking effective action on each of the four risks.
                Compared to the HRI only group, the MI and TTM groups had significantly more participants in the Action stage for exercise and effective stress management and significantly fewer risk behaviors at 6 months. MI and TTM group outcomes were not different.
                This was the first study to demonstrate that MI and online TTM could produce significant multiple behavior changes. Future research will examine the long-term impacts of each treatment, their cost effectiveness, effects on productivity and quality of life and process variables mediating outcomes. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of stage-matched repeated individual behavioral counseling as an intervention for the cessation of smoking.
                We conducted a multisite randomized controlled trial that enrolled smokers unselected for their readiness to quit. There were 979 smokers with hypertension or hypercholesterolemia recruited from 72 study sites and randomly allocated to the intervention or control group. Smokers in the intervention group received stage-matched individual counseling consisting of a 40 minute initial session and four 20-30 minute follow-up sessions. Smokers in the control group received individual behavioral counseling for hypertension or hypercholesterolemia.
                The point prevalence abstinence rate at 6 months, validated by carbon monoxide testing, in the intervention group (13.6%) was 5.4 times higher (p<0.001) than that in the control group (2.5%). When the data were analyzed based on the baseline stage of change, there were significant differences in the abstinence rates at 6 months in smokers versus controls with each stage of change except in immotives. The odds ratio was 6.4 (p<0.001) in precontemplators, 6.7 (p<0.001) in contemplators, and 6.2 (p<0.01) in preparators. There was a positive, consistent effect of the intervention regardless of study site (worksite or community) or the presence of hypertension or hypercholesterolemia.
                We showed the effects of an intervention with repeated individual behavioral counseling on the cessation of smoking in smokers unselected for their readiness to quit. This result suggests that stage-matched individual counseling, based on the transtheoretical model, is effective in smokers with a lower motivation to quit as well as those ready to quit. Although smoking prevalence in the United States has declined markedly in recent years, prevalence among blue-collar workers remains high and few successful methods of reaching this group have been identified. The present study was designed to test the relative efficacy of two different approaches to telephone smoking-cessation counseling for blue-collar workers. Our study built on the experience of the National Cancer Institute's Cancer Information Service (CIS) and compared the past CIS smoking-cessation counseling procedure and a modified version of the present procedure. In our trial, callers to a special telephone hotline who asked for information on smoking cessation were randomly assigned to receive counseling under one of two protocols: 1) the past CIS procedure, in which general information was given and cessation materials were sent to the callers, and 2) a version of the present CIS stage-model procedure, adapted by us for use with blue-collar workers, in which callers were given counseling specific to their stage in the smoking-cessation process. The general-information group contained 185 subjects; the stage-model group contained 197. Despite extensive efforts in the present study, it was not possible to recruit the number of blue-collar workers planned for our statistical analysis. Consequently, of a total of 382 subjects recruited, 93 (24.3%) were blue-collar workers, 181 (47.4%) were white-collar workers, and 108 (28.3%) were retired persons who worked part time, student workers, or the unemployed. Our results show no statistically significant differences in either short-term or long-term nonsmoking rates between the general-information group and the stage-model group.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS) To test the efficacy of (i) computer-generated tailored letters and (ii) practitioner-delivered brief advice for smoking cessation against an assessment-only condition; and to compare both interventions directly.
                Quasi-randomized controlled trial.
                A total of 34 randomly selected general practices from a German region (participation rate 87%).
                A total of 1499 consecutive patients aged 18-70 years with daily cigarette smoking (participation rate 80%).
                The tailored letters intervention group received up to three individualized personal letters. Brief advice was delivered during routine consultation by the practitioner after an onsite training session. Both interventions were based on the Transtheoretical Model of behaviour change.
                Self-reported point prevalence and prolonged abstinence at 6-, 12-, 18- and 24-month follow-ups.
                Among participants completing the last follow-up, 6-month prolonged abstinence was 18.3% in the tailored letters intervention group, 14.8% in the brief advice intervention group and 10.5% in the assessment-only control group. Assuming those lost to follow-up to be smokers, the rates were 10.2%, 9.7% and 6.7%, respectively. Analyses including all follow-ups confirmed statistically significant effects of both interventions compared to assessment only. Using complete case analysis, the tailored letters intervention was significantly more effective than brief advice for 24-hour [odds ratio (OR) = 1.4; P = 0.047] but not for 7-day point prevalence abstinence (OR = 1.4; P = 0.068) for prolonged abstinence, or for alternative assumptions about participants lost to follow-up.
                The study demonstrated long-term efficacy of low-cost interventions for smoking cessation in general practice. The interventions are suitable to reach entire populations of general practices and smoking patients. Computer-generated letters are a promising option to overcome barriers to provide smoking cessation counselling routinely. Treating multiple health behavior risks on a population basis is one of the most promising approaches to enhancing health and reducing health care costs. Previous research demonstrated the efficacy of expert system interventions for three behaviors in a population of parents. The interventions provide individualized feedback that guides participants through the stages of change for each of their risk behaviors. This study extended that research to a more representative population of patients from primary care practice and to targeting of four rather than three behaviors.
                Stage-based expert systems were applied to reduce smoking, improve diet, decrease sun exposure, and prevent relapse from regular mammography. A randomized clinical controlled trial recruited 69.2% of primary care patients (N = 5407) at home via telephone. Three intervention contacts were delivered for each risk factor at 0, 6, and 12 months. The primary outcome measures were the percentages of at-risk patients at baseline who progressed to the action or maintenance stages at 24-month follow-up for each of the risk behaviors.
                Significant treatment effects were found for each of the four behaviors, with 25.4% of intervention patients in action or maintenance for smoking, 28.8% for diet, and 23.4% for sun exposure. The treatment group had less relapse from regular mammography than the control group (6% vs. 10%).
                Proactive, home-based, and stage-matched expert systems can produce relatively high population impacts on multiple behavior risks for cancer and other chronic diseases. Three stage-based expert system interventions for smoking, high-fat diet, and unsafe sun exposure were evaluated in a sample of 2,460 parents of teenagers. Eighty-four percent of the eligible parents were enrolled in a 2-arm randomized control trial, with the treatment group receiving individualized feedback reports for each of their relevant behaviors at 0, 6, and 12 months as well as a multiple behavior manual. At 24 months, the expert system outperformed the comparison condition across all 3 risk behaviors, resulting in 22% of the participants in action or maintenance for smoking (vs. 16% for the comparison condition), 34% for diet (vs. 26%), and 30% for sun exposure (vs. 22%). Proactive, home-based, and stage-matched expert systems can produce significant multiple behavior changes in at-risk populations where the majority of participants are not prepared to change.
                ((c) 2004 APA, all rights reserved) To test the long-term efficacy of brief counseling plus a computer-based tobacco intervention for teens being seen for routine medical care.
                Both smoking and nonsmoking teens, 14 to 17 years of age, who were being seen for routine visits were eligible for this 2-arm controlled trial. Staff members approached teens in waiting rooms of 7 large pediatric and family practice departments within a group-practice health maintenance organization. Of 3747 teens invited at > or =1 visits, 2526 (67%) consented and were randomized to tobacco intervention or brief dietary advice. The tobacco intervention was individually tailored on the basis of smoking status and stage of change. It included a 30-second clinician advice message, a 10-minute interactive computer program, a 5-minute motivational interview, and up to two 10-minute telephone or in-person booster sessions. The control intervention was a 5-minute motivational intervention to promote increased consumption of fruits and vegetables. Follow-up smoking status was assessed after 1 and 2 years.
                Abstinence rates after 2 years were significantly higher for the tobacco intervention arm, relative to the control group, in the combined sample of baseline smokers and nonsmokers (odds ratio [OR]: 1.23; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.03-1.47). Treatment effects were particularly strong among baseline self-described smokers (OR: 2.42; 95% CI: 1.40-4.16) but were not significant for baseline nonsmokers (OR: 1.25; 95% CI: 0.97-1.61) or for those who had "experimented" in the past month at baseline (OR: 0.95; 95% CI: 0.45-1.98).
                Brief, computer-assisted, tobacco intervention during routine medical care increased the smoking cessation rate among self-described smokers but was less effective in preventing smoking onset. We conducted longitudinal analysis of long-term outcomes of a motivational smoking cessation program. The program consisted of clinic-based minimal interventions delivered to women smokers in public health clinics by clinic personnel, a reminder letter, and an optional brief telephone counseling.
                Subjects seen in six intervention (N=541) and six control clinics (N=527) were interviewed by telephone 2, 6, 12, and 18 months later. At each measurement point, unadjusted percent abstinence and mean action, motivation, and readiness scores by study group were compared with standard bivariate comparisons tests. Hierarchical linear modeling that adjusted for clustering of subjects within clinics and clustering of results over 18 months (four waves) within individuals was used to compare outcomes by study group.
                Number of actions toward quitting, motivation, and stage of readiness to quit remained better in the intervention than in the control group up to 18 months. The program effect on abstinence was still significant at 12 months, but not at 18 months.
                Exposure to one-time, brief interventions in public health clinics appears sufficient to enhance abstinence up to 12 months, and action toward quitting and motivation and readiness to quit up to 18 months. To evaluate the effect on quitting smoking at 18 months postpartum of smoking cessation interventions based on the Transtheoretical Model (TTM) delivered in pregnancy compared to current standard care. It has been claimed that TTM-based interventions will continue to create quitters after the end of the intervention period.
                Cluster randomized trial.
                Antenatal clinics in general practices in the West Midlands, UK.
                A total of 918 pregnant smokers originally enrolled in the trial, of which 393 women were followed-up at 18 months postpartum.
                One hundred general practices were randomized into the three trial arms. Midwives in these practices delivered three interventions: A (standard care), B (TTM-based self-help manuals) and C (TTM-based self-help manuals plus sessions with an interactive computer program giving individualized smoking cessation advice).
                Self-reported continuous and point prevalence abstinence since pregnancy.
                When combined together, there was a slight and not significant benefit for both TTM arms compared to the control, with an odds ratio (OR) 95% confidence interval (CI) of 1.20 (0.29-4.88) for continuous abstinence. For point prevalence abstinence, the OR (95%CI) was 1.15 (0.66-2.03). Seven of the 54 (13%) women who had quit at the end of pregnancy were still quit 18 months later, and there was no evidence that the TTM-based interventions were superior in preventing relapse.
                The TTM-based interventions may have shown some evidence of a short-term benefit for quitting in pregnancy but no benefit relative to standard care when followed-up in the longer-term. Telephone counseling is a popular modality for smoking cessation treatment; however, little attention has been paid to evaluating the efficacy of different contents of calls. This study compared 2 types of proactive telephone calls following a group program. Participants were randomized to receive either: (a) basic content, consisting primarily of support; or (b) enhanced content, tailored to the stage of cessation (still smoking, abstinent, or relapsed) and targeting factors hypothesized to be related to success (motivation, self-efficacy, and negative mood). There was a significant interaction between treatment condition and gender. For men, the enhanced condition produced better abstinence rates through 15 months and lower relapse rates. For women, the basic condition was better. History of depression did not interact with condition. To assess the effectiveness of a new computer-generated tailored advice programme designed to be used by smokers and recent quitters having problems staying stopped.
                Randomized trial comparing a series of questionnaire assessments leading to tailored computer-generated advice letters mailed at strategically relevant times, to a no extra treatment control sent standardized printed self-help materials.
                Victoria, Australia.
                A total of 1058 smokers or recent quitters recruited from callers to the Quitline.
                Smoking status and sustained abstinence at 12-month follow-up, plus extent of participation in the intervention.
                Using a conservative analysis (missing data coded as a treatment failure), 6-month sustained abstinence was reported by significantly more participants in the computer-generated tailored advice (20%) than the standard printed materials condition (12%) at 12-month follow-up OR 1.82 (1.31-2.55)). Group differences in point prevalence abstinence (28% intervention, 25% control) were not significant. Among participants in the tailored advice condition, 6-month sustained abstinence was associated with the number of advice letters received.
                The provision of a series of tailored, computer-generated advice letters resulted in greater rates of sustained cessation than for controls. A dose-response relationship was found, with increased compliance with the intervention associated with improved cessation outcomes. The programme appears to have much of its effect by preventing relapse. A 2-year self-help manual smoking cessation intervention was conducted among a panel of middle-aged Finnish men (n = 265) who were recruited proactively in a longitudinal cardiovascular risk factor surveillance study.
                Intervention utilized the stages of change concept of the transtheoretical model. The stages were assessed in the treatment condition at baseline of the cessation study and after that by mail every sixth month. Assessments were followed by an immediate mailing of a stage-based self-help manual matching the stage of change at that time. A usual care group was assessed annually but received no treatment.
                A significant time x intervention effect (P < 0.05) and time x baseline stage effect (P < 0.001) on quit rates were observed in the panel data over the 2-year period. An analysis of changes in the stages of change also revealed an accelerated cessation process in the treatment condition.
                We conclude that mailed stage-matched self-help smoking cessation manuals were able to accelerate the smoking cessation process but manuals alone may not constitute a sufficient long-term intervention. The effects of differential exposure to intervention, subject characteristics, measurement reactivity, and secular trends are discussed as potential confounds. To assess the effectiveness of a program of computer-generated tailored advice for callers to a telephone helpline, and to assess whether it enhanced a series of callback telephone counselling sessions in aiding smoking cessation.
                Randomized controlled trial comparing: (1) untailored self-help materials; (2) computer-generated tailored advice only, and (3) computer-generated tailored advice plus callback telephone counselling. Assessment surveys were conducted at baseline, 3, 6 and 12 months.
                Victoria, Australia.
                A total of 1578 smokers who called the Quitline service and agreed to participate.
                Smoking status at follow-up; duration of cessation, if quit; use of nicotine replacement therapy; and extent of participation in the callback service.
                At the 3-month follow-up, significantly more (chi2(2) = 16.9; P < 0.001) participants in the computer-generated tailored advice plus telephone counselling condition were not smoking (21%) than in either the computer-generated advice only (12%) or the control condition (12%). Proportions reporting not smoking at the 12-month follow-up were 26%, 23% and 22%, respectively (NS) for point prevalence, and for 9 months sustained abstinence; 8.2, 6.0, and 5.0 (NS). In the telephone counselling group, those receiving callbacks were more likely than those who did not to have sustained abstinence at 12 months (10.2 compared with 4.0, P < 0.05). Logistic regression on 3-month data showed significant independent effects on cessation of telephone counselling and use of NRT, but not of computer-generated tailored advice.
                Computer-generated tailored advice did not enhance telephone counselling, nor have any independent effect on cessation. This may be due to poor timing of the computer-generated tailored advice and poor integration of the two modes of advice. The purpose of this prospective, randomized controlled study was to determine the efficacy of an intensified, late pregnancy, smoking cessation intervention for resistant pregnant smokers (n = 269). Participants received 3-5 min of counseling plus a self-help booklet at their first prenatal visit and seven booklets mailed weekly thereafter; at 28 weeks, all had been smoking in the past 28 days. The experimental group received a stage of change-based, personalized feedback letter and two telephone counseling calls using Motivational Interviewing (MI) strategies. The control group received care as usual. The 34th week cotinine data demonstrated no overall difference between groups. However, an implementation analysis suggested that 43% of women who received the full intervention (E2) were classified as not smoking compared to 34% of the control group. At 6 weeks postpartum, 27.1% of the E2 group reported being abstinent or light smokers vs. 14.6% of the controls. No differences were detected at 3 and 6 months postpartum. Results lend preliminary but very modest support for this intervention with resistant pregnant smokers. Improvements in the intervention and implementation issues are discussed. To assess the effects of a smoking cessation program for recovering alcoholics on use of alcohol, tobacco and illicit drugs after discharge from residential treatment.
                A randomized community intervention trial design was employed in which 12 residential drug treatment centers in Iowa, Kansas and Nebraska were matched and then randomly assigned to the intervention or control condition.
                Approximately 50 adult residents (inpatients) from each site were followed for 12 months after treatment discharge.
                Participating residents in the six intervention centers received a 4-part, individually tailored, smoking cessation program while those in the six control sites received usual care.
                Both moderate and heavy drinking rates were reduced in the intervention group. Intervention site participants were significantly more likely than controls to report alcohol abstinence at both the 6-month (OR = 1.59, 95%CI: 1.09-2.35) and 12-month assessment (OR = 1.84, 95%CI: 1.28-2.92). Illicit drug use rates were comparable. Effect of the intervention on tobacco quit rates was not statistically significant.
                Counseling alcoholics in treatment to quit smoking does not jeopardize the alcohol recovery process. However, low-intensity tobacco interventions are unlikely to yield high tobacco quit rates. To test the efficacy of an aid to cessation/relapse prevention intervention for women postpartum.
                Two-armed randomized controlled trial. Follow-ups at 6, 12, 18, and 24 months, screenings on maternity wards. Intervention group received face-to-face counseling 40 days postpartum plus telephone counseling calls 4 and 12 weeks later. Control group received usual care plus self-help material for each parent.
                With regard to smoking cessation, 4 week point prevalence abstinent rates were higher in the treatment group at 6, 12, and 18 months (7% vs. 1%, 7% vs. 2%, and 9% vs. 1%, respectively). Sustained abstinence was higher in the treatment group at 6 months follow-up (3% vs. 0%). No difference was observed with regard to relapse prevention.
                Regarding aid to cessation we observed small effects, regarding relapse prevention no effect. In order to capitalize on the opportunity childbirth poses with regard to smoking, theories on relapse prevention in smoking cessation that guide in designing interventions are needed. Community college students represent 44% of all students enrolled in U.S. higher education facilities. To our knowledge, no previous smoking cessation intervention has targeted community college students. Previous studies suggest that a motivational smoking cessation intervention could be successful for young adult smokers. Combining motivational interviewing sessions with personalized health feedback is likely to increase participants' motivation to quit and movement through the stages of change. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of a smoking cessation program based on these premises. We designed a computer-assisted, counselor-delivered smoking cessation program that addresses personal health risks and readiness to change smoking behavior among community college students. A group-randomized, controlled trial was used to assess the intervention in a sample of 426 students (58.5% females; mean age, 22.8+/-4.7 years) from 15 pair-matched campuses. At the 10-month follow-up assessment, the cotinine-validated smoking cessation rates were 16.6% in the experimental condition and 10.1% in the standard care condition (p=0.07). Our results indicate that our computer-assisted intervention holds considerable promise in reducing smoking among community college students. This study evaluated the effectiveness of three smoking cessation interventions for this population: (1) modified usual care (UC); (2) brief advice (A); and (3) brief advice plus more extended counseling during and after hospitalization (A + C).
                Smokers (2,095) who were in-patients in four hospitals were randomly assigned to condition. Smoking status was ascertained via phone interview 7 days and 12 months post-discharge. At 12 months, reports of abstinence were validated by analysis of saliva cotinine. Intent to treat analyses were performed.
                At 7-day follow-up, 24.2% of participants reported abstinence in the previous 7 days. There were no differences between conditions. At 12-month follow-up, self-reported abstinence was significantly higher in the A + C condition (UC (15.0%) vs. A (15.2%) vs. A + C (19.8%)). There was no significant difference among conditions in cotinine-validated abstinence, however (UC (8.8%) vs. A (10.0%) vs. A + C (9.9%)).
                These interventions for hospital in-patients did not increase abstinence rates. Features of the study that might have contributed to this finding were the inclusiveness of the participation criteria, the fact that pharmacological aids were not provided, and a stage-matching approach that resulted in less intensive counseling for participants unwilling to set a quit date. Counseling coupled with a stages-of-change model in cigarette smoking cessation is a useful method for physicians to help patients stop smoking. The participants were 27 physicians, randomly assigned to three groups of nine physicians each. The first group of physicians were given two lectures on the stages-of-change model on which to base their patient counseling. The second group of physicians were not exposed to the model but a reminder reading "Ask your patients to stop smoking" was placed in their clinic. The third group of physicians were neither exposed to the model nor given any reminder. Of the 93 smokers among the patients of the 27 physicians, 39 were in the first group, 26 in the second, and 28 in the third. A survey indicated that among the three groups there was no significant difference in demographic data, cigarette smoking history, and personal attitude toward smoking cessation counseling. At the end of six months, the first group of patients accomplished a quit smoking rate of 28.6%; of the patients still smoking 56% had decreased their daily cigarette consumption. The corresponding figures for the second group were 8.3% and 9.1%. The corresponding figures for the third group were 4.3% and 13.6%. These data show that counseling coupled with the concept of a stages-of-change model is feasible and effective to assist with cigarette smoking cessation. This study reports the outcome of a randomized controlled trial testing a computer-tailored smoking cessation intervention based on the transtheoretical model in a general population setting in Germany. Participants of the smoking intervention study were recruited from an existing general population health examination survey in a university hospital. The sample consisted of 611 current and former smokers at baseline, and of 485 participants in the core group of baseline daily cigarette smokers. Follow-ups were conducted 6, 12, 18, and 24 months after baseline. The intervention was designed for both current and former smokers, involved up to three individualized feedback letters, and was created using expert-system technology. Based on 7-day point-prevalence abstinence and 6-month prolonged abstinence as the outcome measures, the study identified no significant differences between the intervention and control groups. Modeling the full longitudinal data in generalized estimation equation analyses, using different nonresponse procedures, and adjusting for covariates did not alter the results. We conclude that the computer-tailored transtheoretical model-based smoking cessation intervention, as delivered in this study and in this special setting, was ineffective. Evaluate the feasibility, acceptability, and potential efficacy of a skills-training intervention for adults interested in helping someone to stop smoking (i.e., support persons).
                Sixty adult support persons (77% female) were directly recruited from the community and randomly assigned to this intervention (manual plus five weekly group-based sessions) or a control condition (one-page leaflet). All intervention and outcome assessments occurred through the support persons. Assessments occurred at weeks 0 (baseline), 6 (end of treatment), 12, and 24. The study was conducted from 1998 to 2001; data collection occurred from 1999 to 2000. Outcomes were ratings of treatment acceptability, recruitment and retention rates, supportive behaviors provided to the smoker, and smoking behavior change in the smoker as reported by the support person.
                Support persons were recruited in a timely manner and study retention rates were high. Support persons in skills training showed significant increases in their supportive behavior scores compared with control subjects at weeks 6 and 12. Although not statistically significant, the skills-training intervention was associated with more quit attempts, greater improvement in stage of change, and higher 7-day point prevalence abstinence rates in the smokers than the control condition.
                A skills training intervention for support persons is feasible and acceptable. Further studies are needed to test the efficacy of this approach for smoking cessation. Sixty-five college-student smokers were randomly assigned to a four-week computer-administered, stage-based smoking control program or a four-week computer-administered general health education control condition. At post-test, the percentage of students advancing to a higher stage of readiness to change was slightly higher among those in the stage-based program compared to the control condition. At seven month follow-up, both groups reported abstinence rates of approximately 30%. Continuous abstinence for 6 months was 19% for the stage-based group and 14% for the control group at the final follow-up. Smoking cessation interventions are needed for young adults. Innovative approaches to behavior change for this population should be tested. Formative research and process evaluation of those approaches would result in more effective programs. This paper presents the development process and process evaluation of a web-based smoking cessation program. A description of the stages of development is presented with formative research, development of the web-based intervention, formative evaluation, and process evaluation. The smokers reported high usage of the intervention and satisfaction with the intervention in that it helped to raise their consciousness about quitting, encouraged them to set behavioral goals, provided stages of change feedback, and offered interactivity in presenting information and strategies about quitting. The Internet may be a promising tool for patient education according to the process results. GPs often lack time to provide intensive cessation advice for patients who smoke. This study aimed to determine the effectiveness of opportunistic referral of smokers by their GP for telephone cessation counselling by a trained nurse.
                Adult smokers (n = 318) attending 30 GPs in South Western Sydney, Australia were randomly allocated to usual care or referral to a telephone-based program comprising assessment and stage-based behavioural advice, written information and follow-up delivered by a nurse. Self-reported point prevalence abstinence at six and 12 months was compared between groups. Characteristics of patients who accepted and completed the intervention were investigated.
                Of 169 smokers randomised to the intervention, 76 (45%) consented to referral. Compared with smokers in 'pre-contemplation', those further along the stage-of-change continuum were significantly more likely to consent (p = 0.003). Those further along the continuum also were significantly more likely to complete all four calls of the intervention (OR 2.6, 95% CI: 0.8-8.1 and OR 8.6, 95% CI: 1.7-44.4 for 'contemplation' and 'preparation' respectively). At six months, there was no significant difference between groups in point prevalence abstinence (intention to treat) (9% versus 8%, p = 0.7). There was no evidence of differential intervention effectiveness by baseline stage-of-change (p = 0.6) or patient sex (p = 0.5). At 12 months, point prevalence abstinence in the intervention and control groups was 8% and 6% respectively (p = 0.6).
                Acceptance of opportunistic referral for nurse delivered telephone cessation advice was low. This trial did not demonstrate improved quit rates following the intervention. Future research efforts might better focus support for those patients who are motivated to quit. AUSTRALIAN CLINICAL TRIALS REGISTRY NUMBER: ACTRN012607000091404.
Based on four trials using direct comparisons, stage-based self-help interventions (expert systems and/or tailored materials) and individual counselling were neither more nor less effective than their non-stage-based equivalents. Thirty-one trials of stage-based self help or counselling interventions versus any control condition demonstrated levels of effectiveness which were comparable with their non-stage-based counterparts. Providing these forms of practical support to those trying to quit appears to be more productive than not intervening. However, the additional value of adapting the intervention to the smoker's stage of change is uncertain. The evidence is not clear for other types of staged intervention, including telephone counselling, interactive computer programmes and training of physicians or lay supporters. The evidence does not support the restriction of quitting advice and encouragement only to those smokers perceived to be in the preparation and action stages.