Brief Intervention for Tobacco when Diagnosed with Oral Cancer (BITDOC): Study protocol of a randomized clinical trial studying efficacy of brief tobacco cessation intervention, Chhattisgarh, India

Abstract

INTRODUCTION Tobacco use is a major causative factor for cancer. Cessation programs along with diagnosis of cancer as a motivating factor may improve quitting rates in patients. This is a protocol of a study that aims to assess the efficacy of brief tobacco cessation intervention (compared to treatment as usual, TAU) on pattern and attitudes towards tobacco chewing in newly diagnosed head and neck cancer patients and their relatives. METHODS The proposed study will be conducted in two phases. Phase 1 will include 105 dyads of patients and relatives and shall assess patterns (amount, frequency, duration of use and dependence etc.) and knowledge and attitudes (quitting, continued use, health-behavioural modifications, long-term effects on treatment etc.) towards tobacco chewing in newly diagnosed head and neck cancer patients using smokeless tobacco and their relatives. Sample will be recruited from outpatients attending the ear, nose, throat and head and neck surgery department of a tertiary health care institute. Phase 2 will be a randomized trial that will compare the efficacy of the 'Brief Intervention for Tobacco when Diagnosed with Oral Cancer' (BITDOC) and TAU, and will include 27 dyads in each of the two groups. Intervention will be delivered in three sessions, based on the principles of motivational interviewing and the 3As model. CONCLUSIONS This study will help in the evaluation of the attitude towards smokeless tobacco (SLT) in a population that has faced the adverse consequences from its use and changes brought by a diagnosis of HNC. It will also help in developing a cost-effective model for promotion of smoking cessation.

Brief intervention to enhance cessation of smokeless tobacco use in newly diagnosed patients with head and neck cancers: A randomized controlled trial in patient-relative dyads

“…This study formed the project’s second phase, and participants for this phase were drawn from the sample studied in the first phase. [ 30 ]…”

“…(2020). [ 30 ] Essentially, the intervention package included a 2-hour primary session and a 15-minute booster (refresher) session spaced within 10-15 days. The primary session and booster session were conducted with individual patient-relative dyad mode.…”

Impact of cancer diagnosis on use of smokeless tobacco: A descriptive study of patient-relative dyads

“…This paper reports results of the first phase of the BITDOC study (Approved by Institutional ethics committee (Ref: 569/IEC-AIIMSRPR/2019, dated). [ 5 ] This cross-sectional study was conducted at a tertiary care medical institute from central India between 20/02/2019 and 22/02/2020. The study sample was drawn from the outpatient clinic/inpatient ward of the Department of ENT and Head and Neck Surgery, which has an average outpatient attendance of 150 patients of which about 30 are patients with head and neck cancers.…”