Are there ways to help partners and others to give more effective support to people who are trying to quit smoking

Park EW, Schultz JK., Tudiver FG, Campbell T, Becker LA

Published Online:

July 16, 2008

Smokers who get support from partners and other people are more likely to quit. Interventions intended to improve the support received have not been shown to increase long-term quit rates compared to a smoking cessation programme without a partner support component. The interventions may not have successfully changed the support provided.

Abstract (click to read)

Background:

While many cessation programmes are available to assist smokers in quitting, research suggests that partner involvement may encourage long-term abstinence.

Objectives:

The purpose of this review was to determine if an intervention to enhance partner support helps smoking cessation when added as an adjunct to a smoking cessation programme.

Search strategy:

The search was performed in: Cochrane Tobacco Addiction Group specialized register (Oct 2007), Cochrane controlled trials register (Oct 2007), (1966-Oct 2007), MEDLINE (1966-Oct 2007), EMBASE (1974-Oct 2007), PsycINFO (1861-Oct 2007). The search terms used were smoking (prevention, control, therapy), smoking cessation, and support (family, marriage, spouse, partner, sexual partner, buddy, friend, co-habitees, and co-worker).

Selection criteria:

Randomized controlled trials of smoking cessation interventions that compared an intervention that included a partner support component with an otherwise identical intervention and reported follow up of six months or longer.

Data collection and analysis:

Two authors independently identified the included studies and extracted data using a structured form. A third author was consulted to aid in the resolution of discrepancies. Abstinence, biochemically validated if possible, was the primary outcome measure and was extracted at two post-treatment intervals: 6-9 months and >12 months. The scores of PIQ (partner interaction questionnaire) were also analyzed to assess partner support. A fixed-effect model was used to pool relative risks from each study and estimate a summary effect .

Main results:

A total of 49 articles were identified for this review. Only ten articles (11 studies, >2000 participants) met the inclusion criteria. The definition of partner varied between studies. All studies gave self-reported smoking cessation rates, but there was limited biochemical validation of abstinence. The risk ratio for self-reported abstinence at 6-9 months was 1.01 (95% CI, 0.86 to 1.18); and at 12 months post-treatment was 1.04 (95% CI, 0.87 to 1.24). Of the six studies that measured partner support at follow up, only two studies reported significant increase in partner support in the intervention groups.

Authors' conclusions:

In this review of randomized controlled trials of interventions designed to enhance partner support for smokers in cessation programmes, we failed to detect an increase in quit rates. Limited data from several of the trials suggest that these interventions did not increase partner support either. No conclusions can be made about the impact of partner support on smoking cessation. More systematic intervention to affect partnership significantly should be delivered if partner support were part of an existing cessation programme.

This record should be cited as:

Park EW, Schultz JK., Tudiver FG, Campbell T, Becker LA. Enhancing partner support to improve smoking cessation. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2004, Issue 3. Art. No.: CD002928. DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD002928.pub2

Assessed as up to date:

February 25, 2008

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Primary Review Group:

Tobacco Addiction Group

Health topics:

Lungs & airways > Smoking cessation > Non-pharmacological interventions

Tobacco, drugs, & alcohol dependence > Tobacco > Non-pharmacological interventions

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Are there ways to help partners and others to give more effective support to people who are trying to quit smoking

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