Effectiveness of a Culturally-Tailored Smoking Cessation Intervention for Arab-American Men.

Linda Haddad,Ahmad Al-Bashaireh,Anastasiya Ferrell,Roula Ghadban

doi:10.3390/ijerph14040411

Abstract

To date, no smoking cessation programs are available for Arab American (ARA) men, who are a vulnerable population with high rates of smoking. Thus, the primary aim of this one group pre-test/post-test study was to assess the effectiveness of Sehatack—a culturally and linguistically tailored smoking cessation program for ARA men. The study sample was 79 ARA men with a mean age of 43 years who smoked between 5 and 40 cigarettes (mean = 19.75, SD = 9.1) per day (98.7%). All of the participants reported more interest in smoking cessation post-intervention and many of the participants in the baseline (38.5%) and post-intervention phases (47.7%) wanted to quit smoking ”very much”. For daily smokers who completed the smoking cessation program, the median number of cigarettes smoked daily was significantly lower than those in the post-intervention phase (Z = −6.915, p < 0.001). Results of this preliminary study indicate that: (a) Sehatack may be a promising way for ARA men to quit smoking, and (b) culturally relevant smoking cessation counselors can be trained to recruit and retain ARA smokers in an intensive group smoking cessation program. Strengths of this study were community engagement and rapport between three faith organizations and the University of Florida College of Nursing. However, a larger trial is needed to address study limitations and to confirm benefits in this population.

Highlights

Despite the fact that this population totals almost six million and is one of the fastest-growing immigrant groups in the United States [1,2,3,4,5], there have been few studies of smoking behavior amongArab American (ARA) men, who often have high rates of smoking
We have found that ARA men are interested and willing to embark upon smoking cessation when they are offered a culturally tailored, linguistically appropriate program
Our findings suggest that the combination of nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) with Motivational Interviewing (MI) may be a promising way to treat tobacco dependence in smokers, and it appears to be safe and well-tolerated

Summary

Introduction

Despite the fact that this population totals almost six million and is one of the fastest-growing immigrant groups in the United States [1,2,3,4,5], there have been few studies of smoking behavior amongArab American (ARA) men, who often have high rates of smoking. ARA men have a lower quitting ratio compared to U.S adult males [8,9,10,11,12,13], perhaps because many ARAs come from countries where tobacco use among men is culturally appropriate These high smoking rates present serious health risks to ARA men, who are at increased risk for chronic diseases, including a variety of cancers, and higher mortality rates [14,15]. Their families, which tend to be large and include non-immediate family members, are at risk for chronic health issues because of exposure to secondhand smoke [15]. Despite these serious health risks, to date, no smoking cessation program is available for Arab American men

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