BACKGROUND: Only about 30% of Spanish adults who smoke live in smoke-free homes (SFH). Few evidence-based interventions exist to encourage the voluntary adoption of SFH in Spain. This pilot study assesses the feasibility of implementing a locally adapted, evidence-based intervention to promote SFH among households with minors (younger than 18 y.o.), along with its short-term effects.
METHODS: A pre-post evaluation pilot study with a 2-week follow-up after the intervention delivery, conducted between June 2023 and March 2024. We implemented a previously adapted Smoke-Free Homes Program (SFHP; developed by the Emory University) featuring a brief four-component (three mailings and one coaching call) intervention delivered during 6 weeks. Recruitment was performed through the Students’ Families Associations (SFA) from 10 schools in Barcelona Metropolitan Area. We used descriptive statistics to assess implementation outcomes and changes in self-reported smoke-free rules. Pre-post changes in categorical and continuous outcome variables were analyzed using McNemar and Wilcoxon tests, respectively.
RESULTS: At baseline, among 45 recruited participants (28 people who smoke and 17 people who do not), most participants 42 (93.3%) had a partial smoking ban, allowing smoking primarily in “outdoor” areas of homes (balconies, etc.). Among 41 participants with the follow-up information, 40 found the recruitment strategy appropriate and 39 had no difficulties with their participations. Participants reported that the first mailing and a coahing call were the most useful components and gave average score of 4.0 out of 5.0 for utility of the materials. At follow-up, 28 (68.3%) of participants reported attempting to establish a smoke-free home and 7 (17.5%) succeeded. In households where smoking persisted, the mean number of cigarettes smoked per day at home decreased from 7.5 to 4.5.
CONCLUSIONS: Implementing the evidence-based SFHP intervention and recruiting participants through SFAs in Barcelona Metropolitan Area is feasible and a larger trial to evaluate intervention effectiveness and implementation is necessary.