A comparison of nursing interventions for smoking cessation in adults with cardiovascular health problems

To examine the relative effectiveness of three different presentations of a smoking cessation program on the smoking behavior of adults with cardiovascular health problems.

A 2 x 2 x 2 x 4 experimental design with stratification by sex, smoking history, and a cardiovascular event, and randomization to Individual, Group, Written, or No Intervention groups.

Six community hospital classrooms.

255 nonhospitalized adults. THEORETIC FRAMEWORK: Interaction Model of Client Health Behavior.

Study Intake: Professional referral form, demographic questionnaire, smoking habits questionnaire, health history, perceived threat survey, perceived health status. Follow up: smoking cessation and health questionnaire, saliva thiocyanate testing.

At 12-month follow-up, a nurse-client interaction was more effective than written self-help materials; however, smoking cessation rates were highest in the No Intervention control group, possibly related to having had coronary artery bypass graft surgery. Variables positively related to quitting were being male and married and having a higher income. With baseline factors considered, a quitter was most likely to be male and less than 48 years of age, have a high degree of perceived threat relative to medical diagnosis, and be in the individual intervention group. Only partial support for the study hypotheses was found.