A risk perception model to promote smoking cessation among adult current smokers: Application of a community-based smoking cessation intervention

Abstract

INTRODUCTION This study aims to assess the changes in cigarette consumption CO levels, and importance and self-confidence levels of quitting smoking in adult smokers after participation in a 6-month community-based smoking cessation program. METHODS Participants were enrolled in the intervention (counseling group) or noncounseling group after completing a baseline assessment and receiving educational materials. A final assessment was completed at 6 months and at 8 months. Mixed factorial analyses of variance (ANOVAs) with 2 (condition: counseling vs noncounseling) × 2 (spoken language: Chinese vs English) × 2 (time: initial measurement vs last measurement) designs, were conducted for each of the four outcome measures. RESULTS Seventy smokers (50 males, 20 females; mean age 34 years, SD=9.68) from the Mandarin-and Cantonese-speaking (n=30) and English-speaking (n=40) communities in Vancouver, Canada were enrolled. Cigarette consumption: Both Chinese-and English-speaking participants significantly decreased their cigarette consumption at near equal rates and English-speaking participants smoked significantly more cigarettes than the Chinese-speaking participants did across both the initial and last measurement time points. No significant interactions or main effects related to the study condition variable were observed. CO levels: Average levels of CO also decreased near equally for the English-and Chinese-speaking groups. No significant interactions or main effects related to the study condition variable were observed. Importance ratings: Chinese-speakers in the non-counseling group showed no increase in importance ratings, whereas Chinese-speakers in the counseling group saw an average increase of 0.73 (SD=1.10). For the English-speaking group, importance ratings remained stable over time with no significant changes. Self-confidence ratings: A larger average rating increase for the counseling group compared to the noncounseling group was observed for the study condition and time variables. On average, confidence ratings increased significantly for the whole sample. CONCLUSIONS Our study showed that participation in a community-based smoking cessation intervention study, regardless of study group, resulted in significant decreases over time in self-reported cigarettes smoked per day and measured CO levels; as well as a significant effect on importance ratings depending on the language group, and a significant increase in confidence ratings overall.