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Community interventions for preventing smoking in young people
A Sowden1, L Arblaster, L Stead
1NHS Centre for Reviews and Dissemination, University of York, York, UK, YO10 5DD. ajs18@york.ac.uk
The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews
|January 22, 2003
Summary
Community interventions show limited effectiveness in preventing youth smoking uptake. While some programs demonstrated reduced prevalence, more research is needed to confirm their impact on young people
Area of Science:
- Public Health
- Behavioral Science
- Epidemiology
Background:
- Adolescent smoking decisions are influenced by social context.
- Community interventions aim to modify behavior through coordinated, multi-component programs.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the effectiveness of community interventions in preventing smoking initiation among young people.
- To synthesize evidence from controlled trials on community-based smoking prevention.
Main Methods:
- Systematic review of randomized and non-randomized controlled trials.
- Searched specialized registers and electronic databases (Medline, etc.) updated to September 2002.
- Included studies assessing multi-component community interventions versus no intervention or school-based programs only, focusing on smoking behavior in individuals under 25.
Main Results:
- Seventeen studies met inclusion criteria; 46 were excluded.
- Two cardiovascular prevention programs incorporating community interventions reported lower smoking prevalence.
- One study showed reduced smoking prevalence with a multi-component intervention compared to a media-only campaign.
Conclusions:
- Limited evidence suggests community interventions may help prevent smoking uptake in young people.
- Further research is warranted to establish the definitive impact of these interventions.