BACKGROUND: There are notable gender differences in smoking behavior and alcohol use, barriers to quitting and help-seeking, as well as variations in intervention effectiveness. It is therefore important to explore how interventions may need to be adapted to different genders. This review provides an overview of gender differences and commonalities in experiences and perceptions of interventions for smoking cessation and alcohol reduction.
METHODS: A qualitative systematic literature search was carried out in March 2024, using four electronic databases: Web of Science, PubMed, PsycINFO and CINAHL. Keywords included terms for gender, intervention, alcohol use or smoking behavior, and experiences and perceptions. The results sections were analyzed using a thematic synthesis.
RESULTS: In total, 38 articles were included. Experiences and perceptions of interventions appear to be similar between women and men. However, there are some notable differences regarding the support accessibility (e.g., women need childcare options, men believe support is ineffective), setting (e.g., women need a women-only group, men are positive about self-guided app), support components (e.g., women experience social network engagement as helpful, men need incentives and competition), content topics (e.g., women want to focus on self-empowerment, men need anger management and do not need self-reflection), support approach (e.g., women experience a lack of open-minded approach), and support results (e.g., women feel empowered). In addition, findings from three studies about gender diverse people closely align with women and men. However, they report more positive experiences with support that takes issues related to their gender diverse background into account.
CONCLUSIONS: Experiences and perceptions of alcohol and smoking interventions are similar across genders. However, it may be important to consider the unique experiences and perceptions of different genders in tailoring to their needs.