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Extended telephone counseling for smoking cessation: does content matter?
Robin Mermelstein1, Donald Hedeker, Siu Chi Wong
1Department of Psychology and Health Research and Policy Centers, University of Illinois at Chicago, 60607, USA. robinm@uic.edu
Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology
|June 11, 2003
Summary
This study found that tailored telephone counseling content improved smoking cessation success for men but not women. Enhanced content, focusing on individual cessation stages, was more effective for males, while basic support worked better for females.
Area of Science:
- Public Health
- Behavioral Science
- Addiction Medicine
Background:
- Telephone counseling is a common method for smoking cessation.
- Limited research exists on the impact of specific call content on treatment efficacy.
- Understanding content effectiveness is crucial for optimizing smoking cessation interventions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare the effectiveness of two distinct proactive telephone counseling content strategies.
- To evaluate basic (support-focused) versus enhanced (stage-tailored) content following group cessation programs.
- To identify differential effects of content based on participant characteristics like gender.
Main Methods:
- Randomized controlled trial design.
- Participants received either basic or enhanced telephone counseling post-group intervention.
- Enhanced content was tailored to cessation stage (smoking, abstinent, relapsed) and psychological factors.
Main Results:
- A significant interaction between treatment condition and gender was observed.
- Men in the enhanced content group showed higher abstinence and lower relapse rates at 15 months.
- Women in the basic content group demonstrated better outcomes compared to the enhanced group.
Conclusions:
- The efficacy of telephone counseling content for smoking cessation is gender-dependent.
- Enhanced, stage-tailored counseling benefits men, while basic support is more effective for women.
- Future interventions should consider personalized content delivery based on gender.