Evaluating three theory-based interventions to increase physicians' recommendations of smoking cessation services

Area of Science:

• Health behavior change
• Primary care interventions
• Smoking cessation

Background:

• Primary care physicians play a crucial role in promoting smoking cessation.
• Theory-based interventions are needed to effectively increase physician recommendations for cessation services.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the effectiveness of three theory-based interventions in enhancing primary care physicians' recommendations for smoking cessation services.
• To assess the impact of Social Cognitive Theory (SCT) and Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM) based interventions, and Self-Perception Theory (SPT) based feedback.

Main Methods:

• A randomized controlled trial involving 251 primary care physicians.
• Interventions included SCT targeting outcome expectations, SCT + ELM, and SPT-based feedback.
• Outcomes measured were intentions to recommend and self-reported recommendations of smoking cessation services.

Main Results:

• The SCT intervention group reported significantly more frequent recommendations for smoking cessation services compared to the control group (mean difference = 1.1/week).
• Physicians in the SCT group also reported higher intentions to recommend services.
• Mediation analysis supported that increased intentions were driven by changes in outcome expectations, but intentions did not fully explain behavior change.

Conclusions:

• The study offers preliminary evidence for the efficacy of SCT-based interventions in increasing physician recommendations for smoking cessation.
• Further research with more robust outcome measures is warranted to confirm these findings.
• Theory-based approaches show promise for improving smoking cessation support in primary care settings.