Lay facilitators as effective smoking cessation counselors.

Area of Science:

• Behavioral Science
• Public Health

Background:

• Smoking cessation programs are crucial for public health.
• Effectiveness of facilitators with varying levels of training needs assessment.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare the effectiveness of doctoral counseling students and lay facilitators in smoking cessation.
• To assess the generalizability of smoking cessation interventions.

Main Methods:

• Random assignment of 116 participants (55 women, 61 men) to either doctoral or lay facilitators.
• Conducting smoking cessation programs with both groups.

Main Results:

• Lay facilitators demonstrated effectiveness comparable to doctoral counseling students.
• Treatment outcomes were consistent with previous research from the laboratory.
• Offering a choice in preparation techniques may improve treatment outcomes.

Conclusions:

• Lay facilitators can achieve clinically effective results in smoking cessation.
• The findings support the scalability and generalizability of smoking cessation treatments in community settings.
• Utilizing lay facilitators can expand access to smoking cessation interventions.