A Stop-Smoking Strategy After Cervical Cancer Screening: Results of a Cluster-Randomized Controlled Trial in Dutch...

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Preventive Medicine
• Oncology Nursing

Background:

• Smoking remains a significant public health concern, particularly among women.
• Cervical cancer screening presents an opportunistic moment to address smoking cessation.
• Brief interventions delivered in primary care settings can be effective for smoking cessation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the effectiveness of brief stop-smoking advice in improving smoking cessation outcomes among women smokers attending cervical cancer screening.
• To assess the impact of a brief intervention on quit attempts, abstinence rates, and motivation to quit.
• To determine the uptake of cessation counseling following brief advice.

Main Methods:

• A two-arm cluster-randomized controlled trial involving 75 Dutch general practices.
• Intervention group received brief stop-smoking advice using the Ask-Advise-Connect method by a practice assistant.
• Outcomes measured at 6 months included serious quit attempts, point prevalence abstinence, reduction in smoking, and motivation to quit.

Main Results:

• No significant difference in serious quit attempts (39.8% vs. 36.0%) or 7-day point prevalence abstinence (21.1% vs. 16.3%) between intervention and control groups.
• Uptake of cessation counseling was significantly higher in the intervention group (14.7%) compared to the control group (2.8%).
• Trends favored the intervention group for quit attempts and abstinence, though not statistically significant.

Conclusions:

• Brief stop-smoking advice delivered after cervical screening may encourage quit attempts and increase uptake of cessation counseling.
• A significant improvement in smoking cessation outcomes was not demonstrated in this trial.
• Opportunistic brief advice during cervical screening may be a valuable strategy to stimulate smoking cessation in women.