| Staying smokefree through telephone aftercare - Effectiv ... | |
Flöter, S., Kröger, C., Metz, K., Geier, A., Piontek, D. & Gradl, S. (2009, April). Staying smokefree through telephone aftercare - Effectiveness of different counselling approaches in a sample of smoking mothers. Poster, 2009 Joint Conference of SRNT and SRNT-Europe, Dublin, Irland. | |
| Background: Telephone aftercare has the potential to stabilize abstinence rates following an inpatient smoking cessation program (SCP). However, only few studies have focused on the content of such interventions. Some authors point out that especially women could benefit from a more supportive and client-centered than a directive counseling smoking-specific approach. Aim of the present study was to evaluate the effectiveness of two different counseling approaches in a telephone aftercare for female (ex-)smokers.Method: A randomized control group design with three study conditions was realized. The sample consisted of 527 female smokers that participated in a SCP (3 group sessions) during an inpatient rehabilitation for mothers and their children. After the SCP participants were randomly assigned to: (1) no further aftercare (control group); (2) a directive, smoking-specific telephone aftercare; or (3) a non-directive, supportive telephone aftercare. Aftercare comprised three proactive calls during a period of two months after the rehabilitation stay. Smoking status of participants was assessed at the end of the program as well as six and twelve months afterwards. The evaluation of the results was effected through weighted GEE analyses.Results: Against the original hypothesis, the directive telephone aftercare was better accepted by the women than the non-directive approach. At the twelvemonth follow-up compared to the control group the directive counseling group showed a significantly higher abstinence rate (24.8% vs. 16.0%; OR: 2.0; CI: 1.0-3.8) whereas the non-directive counseling group did not (20.7% vs. 16.0%; OR: 1.3; CI: 0.7-2.5).Conclusion: Women seem to benefit from telephone aftercare following a SCP, especially if it includes a directive counseling approach that focuses on smoking behavior. Compared to a non-directive counseling approach the directive telephone aftercareprobably provided a high degree of goal orientation as well as sufficient social support to effectively prevent relapse. The results suggest the effectiveness of a short SCP during inpatient rehabilitation followed by telephone aftercare. |
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