BACKGROUND: The smoking prevalence rate of people aged 15 and above in China is 26.6%, and the number of current smokers exceeds 300 million. The current smoking cessation services, such as smoking cessation clinics and hotlines, are not able to meet the potentially huge demand for smoking cessation. In order to explore a intervention model that integrates multiple resources in the community and to validate its effectiveness, a multicenter randomized controlled trial in four cities in China was conducted.
METHODS: We selected 20 communities in each of the four cities of Xuchang, Qingdao, Qinhuangdao and Changsha as pilots and randomly assigned them into 10 intervention groups and 10 control groups. Each community recruited at least 25 current smokers aged 18 and above who intend to quit within one month through multiple approaches. Study participant completed a baseline questionnaire and three follow-up questionnaire assessments at months 1, 3, and 6 after enrollment. After data collection was completed, the data was analyzed using SAS 9.4 to assess the indicators of smoking cessation among study participants.
RESULTS: According to the results of Intention to treat analysis, the smoking cessation-related indicators of the study participants in the intervention group were significantly higher than the results of the control group at the sixth month follow-up. The continuous abstinence rate(CAR), true CAR verified by carbon monoxide testing, 7-day point abstinence rate, self-reported quit attempt rate, and smoking reduction rate among study participants in the intervention group (12.35%, 12.06%, 16.93%, 37.55%, and 43.87%, respectively) were significantly higher than those in the control group (2.49%, 1.24%, 5.64%, 17.59%, and 28.78%, respectively) (χ² values 73.894, 98.377, 66.217, 103.618, 51.117, respectively, p-value <0.001).
CONCLUSIONS: This study found that a comprehensive community-based smoking cessation intervention model implemented by trained community workers and primary care providers was feasible and effective in helping smokers quit.