Developing and evaluating a smoking cessation program combined with an Internet-assisted instruction program for adolescents with smoking

Abstract

Objective The purpose of this study was to develop a smoking cessation program combined with an Internet-assisted instruction (IAI) program to help youth smokers quit smoking, and to evaluate the effectiveness of the program in changing youth's attitudes toward smoking, smoking behavior, and self-efficacy for smoking cessation. Methods To achieve this goal, a comparative study of 77 senior high students divided into two groups was conducted. One group, designated as the experimental group, accepted a 6-week smoking cessation program plus an IAI program and the other group did not receive any intervention as the comparison group. All participants completed questionnaires before and after the program. Results The results showed that the strategy of combining the smoking cessation program and an IAI program was highly effective in terms of effects upon the youth's attitude towards smoking, smoking behavior, and self-efficacy. There was a highly positive correlation between the participants’ attitude toward smoking and self-efficacy. In contrast, cigarette consumption was in a strongly negative correlation with self-efficacy. Conclusion Most of all participants in the experimental group recognized the effectiveness of the program, and thought the smoking cessation program with an IAI program was helpful and welcomed by youth. This study can serve as reference for future design and implementation of IAI programs for youth smoking cessation.