Effectiveness of a mobile smoking cessation service in reaching elderly smokers and predictors of quitting
Date
2008-10-6
Authors
Abdullah, Abu Saleh M.
Lam, Tai-Hing
Chan, Steve K.K.
Leung, Gabriel M.
Chi, Iris
Ho, Winnie W.N.
Chan, Sophia S.C.
Version
OA Version
Citation
Abdullah, Abu Saleh M, Tai-Hing Lam, Steve KK Chan, Gabriel M Leung, Iris Chi, Winnie WN Ho, Sophia SC Chan. "Effectiveness of a mobile smoking cessation service in reaching elderly smokers and predictors of quitting." BMC Geriatrics 8:25. (2008)
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Different smoking cessation programmes have been developed in the last decade but utilization by the elderly is low. We evaluated a pilot mobile smoking cessation service for the Chinese elderly in Hong Kong and identified predictors of quitting. METHODS: The Mobile Smoking Cessation Programme (MSCP) targeted elderly smokers (aged 60 or above) and provided service in a place that was convenient to the elderly. Trained counsellors provided individual counselling and 4 week's free supply of nicotine replacement therapy (NRT). Follow up was arranged at 1 month by face-to-face and at 3 and 6 months by telephone plus urinary cotinine validation. A structured record sheet was used for data collection. The service was evaluated in terms of process, outcome and cost. RESULTS: 102 governmental and non-governmental social service units and private residential homes for the elderly participated in the MSCP. We held 90 health talks with 3266 elderly (1140 smokers and 2126 non-smokers) attended. Of the 1140 smokers, 365 (32%) received intensive smoking cessation service. By intention-to-treat, the validated 7 day point prevalence quit rate was 20.3% (95% confidence interval: 16.2%–24.8%). Smoking less than 11 cigarettes per day and being adherent to NRT for 4 weeks or more were significant predictors of quitting. The average cost per contact was US$54 (smokers only); per smoker with counselling: US$168; per self-reported quitter: US$594; and per cotinine validated quitter: US$827. CONCLUSION: This mobile smoking cessation programme was acceptable to elderly Chinese smokers, with quit rate comparable to other comprehensive programmes in the West. A mobile clinic is a promising model to reach the elderly and probably other hard to reach smokers.
Description
License
Copyright 2008 Abdullah et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.