Abstract
BackgroundThe recent development of smoking cessation interventions for smokers with chronic diseases has focused heavily on brief interventions. However, these interventions are too brief to make an impact on these smokers, especially when most of them are without any intention to quit. Previous studies showed that smokers who did not want to quit might be interested in changing other health behaviours. Also, once people engage in a health behaviour, they are found more likely to change other unhealthy habits. Hence, a general health promotion approach could be a feasible approach to motivate smokers who do not want to quit to first engage in any desirable health behaviour, and later quit smoking when they intend to do so. This study aims to determine the potential efficacy and effect size of such intervention approach in promoting smoking cessation for smokers with chronic diseases.MethodsThis is a randomized controlled trial. A convenience sample of 60 smokers with chronic diseases will be randomly assigned into either experimental (n = 30) or control group (n = 30). Smokers in the experimental group will receive an individual face-to-face brief motivational interviewing (MI) with generic advice on selected health behaviour. More brief MI messages will be delivered to them via WhatsApp/WeChat for 6 months. For subject in the control group, they will be asked to indicate their desirable health-related practice. However, no MI and booster interventions will be given. All subjects will complete a questionnaire at 1, 3, 6 and 12 months. Subjects abstinent from cigarettes at 12 months will perform a biochemical validation. The primary outcome is biochemically validated smoking abstinence at 12 months. Effect size of the intervention will be estimated by the odd ratios using intention-to-treat.DiscussionThis is the first study to determine the potential efficacy for the use of a personalized general health promotion approach in promoting smoking cessation for smokers with chronic diseases. If our proposed intervention is effective, we will able to assist smokers with chronic disease to quit smoking and change their health behaviour simultaneously.Trial registrationCinicalTrials.gov NCT03983330 (Prospectively registered), registered on June 12, 2019.
Highlights
The recent development of smoking cessation interventions for smokers with chronic diseases has focused heavily on brief interventions
Li et al BMC Public Health (2019) 19:1083 (Continued from previous page). This is the first study to determine the potential efficacy for the use of a personalized general health promotion approach in promoting smoking cessation for smokers with chronic diseases
Power analysis will not be adopted for calculating the sample size as we have found no similar intervention in the literature
Summary
Study design This protocol (date: 20 December 2018) is original. The study will be completed within 18 months (from 1st June 2019 to 30th November 2020). Sample size calculation To determine the efficacy of using a personalized general health promotion approach in promoting smoking cessation for smokers with chronic diseases, we will recruit 60 smokers (30 in the intervention and 30 in the control groups) having medical follow-up in a SOPC in this study. All subjects will be informed that they will receive an individual brief MI intervention to assist behavioural changes or achieve goals as desired or chosen by them via WeChat or WhatsApp in the smart phones throughout the study period. Expressing empathy is a specifiable and learnable skill for understanding another’s meaning through the use of reflective listening [16] To incorporate such skill into the intervention, the trained research assistant will be reminded to show respect in the messages, especially not to impose direction and judgment regarding the subjects’ decision. For those who are willing to take further actions to promote their health, i.e. with an
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