Adherence and Compliance With Smoking Cessation in Primary Health Care

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Clinical Pharmacy
• Behavioral Medicine

Background:

• Smoking cessation programs aim to reduce preventable disease and mortality, but face challenges with low quit rates and high relapse.
• Pharmacological therapies improve cessation success, yet real-world effectiveness is often hindered by poor adherence.
• Understanding adherence factors is crucial for optimizing smoking cessation interventions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate adherence to smoking cessation clinic follow-up and prescribed pharmacotherapy.
• To assess smoking cessation outcomes in a primary care setting.
• To identify demographic and treatment-related factors associated with smoking cessation success.

Main Methods:

• A cross-sectional study involving 344 participants from four primary care smoking cessation clinics in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
• Data collected via medical records and telephone-administered questionnaires.
• Statistical analysis included descriptive statistics and chi-square tests (p < 0.05 significance).

Main Results:

• The overall smoking cessation success rate was 32.6%.
• Adherence to prescribed medication was significantly associated with higher quit rates (43.4% vs. 14.3%, p = 0.001).
• Lack of motivation (64.1%) and medication side effects like nausea (9.9%) were primary reasons for non-adherence.

Conclusions:

• The smoking cessation clinic achieved international standard quit rates.
• Adherence to pharmacotherapy, not just receipt of medication, is key to successful smoking cessation.
• Addressing low motivation and medication side effects is vital for improving patient engagement and outcomes.