A Telephone-Based Tobacco Cessation Program in the State of Qatar: Protocol of a Feasibility Study.

Mohammed Al Thani,Eman Sadoun,Uma Nair,Iman A Hakim,Angeliki Sofroniou,Vasiliki Leventakou,Safa M Eltayeb,Cynthia Thomson

doi:10.3390/ijerph18094750

Abstract

In Qatar, tobacco is the leading preventable cause of death and disease. Telephone-based interventions for smoking are cost-effective and scalable interventions that are effective in promoting smoking behavior change. While many countries have implemented these services within their tobacco control programs, there is a distinct dearth of a telephone-based smoking cessation intervention that is adapted and tailored to meet the needs of people who smoke in Qatar. This study presents the protocol of a primary health care center integrated smoking quitline program in Qatar. Participants will be recruited from seven smoking clinics (recruitment sites). Trained clinic staff will provide brief advice on quitting followed by a referral to the quitline. Eligible participants (male smokers over 18 years of age) will complete baseline questionnaires and receive five weekly proactive counseling calls, an end-of-treatment assessment (approx. 1 week after Session 5), and 1- and 3-month follow-up assessments. The main aim of this study is to assess the feasibility and acceptability, which include the recruitment and retention rate, compliance to pharmacotherapy, and participant satisfaction. This is the first study to integrate an evidence-based smoking cessation intervention delivered via telephone within the healthcare system in Qatar. If effective, results can inform the development of a large-scale telephone-based program that widely reaches users of tobacco in Qatar as well as in the Middle East.

Highlights

Public Health Department, Ministry of Public Health, Doha P.O
Introduction with regard to jurisdictional claims in Tobacco is the leading preventable cause of death and disease contributing to approximately 8 million deaths per year globally of which more than 7 million are directly related to tobacco use [1]
We will examine referrals and treatment compliance for the seven clinics to identify differences in implementation across referral sites. This is the first study to describe the development of a telephonebased model, similar to a quitline, in the Middle East area that is embedded in the healthcare system

Summary

Introduction

Public Health Department, Ministry of Public Health, Doha P.O. Box 42, Qatar; Health Research Governance Department, Ministry of Public Health, Doha P.O. The main aim of this study is to assess the feasibility and acceptability, which include the recruitment and retention rate, compliance to pharmacotherapy, and participant satisfaction This is the first study to integrate an evidence-based smoking cessation intervention delivered via telephone within the healthcare system in Qatar. Qatar, along with other countries, has adopted the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control [6] Within this framework, countries have committed to adopting effective measures for tobacco control (e.g., price and tax increases, smoke-free policies, bans on advertising) and providing tobacco intervention services that have a broad reach such as the telephone-based smoking cessation quitlines [7,8]. While Qatar has successfully implemented the above measures, there has been little focus on telephone-based behavioral counseling services for smoking cessation, and prevalence rates continue to remain high [3]

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