BACKGROUND AND IMPLEMENTATION CHALLENGES: Smoking represents a crucial contributor to preventable illnesses in Thailand. The Thai government has made substantial efforts to enhance smoking cessation services delivered by healthcare professionals. However, previous smoking cessation initiatives provided by Thailand's healthcare system were compartmentalized. This quasi-experimental study assesses the efficacy of an integrated smoking cessation service (ISCSS) implemented within primary healthcare services on smoking status.
INTERVENTION OR RESPONSE: The study stratified participants, aged 18-75 who smoke cigarettes or roll-your-own into three groups of 72 individuals each: 1) those provided with the ISCSS-Community health workers provided brief smoking cessation advice during supervised home visits, followed by referral to proactive, multisession, intensive behavioral therapy via telephone counseling with follow-up by a Thailand National Quitline (TNQ) Counselor, 2) individuals receiving counseling from the TNQ a Thailand National Quitline (TNQ), and 3) participants receiving standard nursing care. Group matching was conducted based on age and nicotine dependency levels. The ISCSS in Primary Health Services served as the experimental intervention, while the 7-day point prevalence abstinence (PPA) was measured one year after the quit date. Data analysis involved descriptive statistics and bivariate logistic regression.
RESULTS AND IMPACT: The study demonstrated that smoking cessation success rates were 52.78% for participants in the ISCSS group, 37.50% for those receiving counseling through the TNQ, and 5.56% for individuals under standard nursing care. When comparing smoking cessation outcomes, individuals in the integrated service system group were 19.00 times more likely to successfully quit smoking compared to those receiving standard care (OR = 19.00, 95% CI = 6.27–51.62). Likewise, participants in the TNQ counseling group exhibited a 10.20 times higher likelihood of quitting successfully compared to the standard care group (OR = 10.20, 95% CI = 3.43–31.12).
CONCLUSIONS: These findings underscore the importance of implementing an integrated smoking cessation service system in primary healthcare settings to improve community smoking cessation rates.