Review of smoking cessation research among Asian Americans: The state of the research

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to provide an analytic review of population-based efforts to measure smoking prevalence levels among Asian Americans, and peer-reviewed smoking cessation research targeting Asian Americans. The heterogeneity of Asian Americans has hindered precise determinations of their smoking prevalence and has contributed to the difficulty of implementing standardized smoking cessation interventions. First, we reviewed abstracts of published articles accessible through PUBMED between 1995 and 2005 as well as other reports accessible to the authors to ascertain tobacco control interventions focusing on any Asian American population and the available data sources of Asian Americans' tobacco use. Only two clusters of controlled studies and one uncontrolled smoking cessation intervention study focused on Asian Americans have been published in the peer-reviewed literature. These studies had various degrees of success in cessation. Second, we compiled a list of data sources that contain tobacco use information for Asian Americans in California. These sources could potentially be used to shed light on the strategies of cessation intervention for this group. Community-based trial on tobacco cessation is lacking for Asian Americans even though some of the subgroups bear the heavy burden of smoking. Various survey data that have Asian American tobacco use information should be thoroughly analyzed and the results appropriately interpreted as the basis of intervention for this community. We concluded with three specific recommendations for further research on smoking cessation intervention research focused on Asian Americans.

A Social Network Family-Focused Intervention to Promote Smoking Cessation in Chinese and Vietnamese American Male Smokers: A Feasibility Study

“…22 Few studies have rigorously assessed strategies to promote smoking cessation among Asian American smokers. 23,24 A PubMed search up to January 2015 found eight randomized trials targeting Asian Americans. Strategies tested include media interventions targeting Vietnamese, 25,26 lay health worker (LHW) outreach to individual Southeast Asian male smokers, 27 individual smoking cessation counseling plus NRT for Chinese and Koreans, [28][29][30] Internet-based smoking cessation program versus booklet for Koreans, 31 and telephone quitline counseling versus booklet for Chinese, Vietnamese, and Koreans.…”

Disseminating Tobacco Control Information to Asians and Pacific Islanders

“…Indeed, the Helpline should be better utilized by APIs once they are aware that it is available in most of the native languages of API subgroups [13, 15]. Since the Helpline collects usage statistics, it will be possible to monitor gradual shifts in use by the API community over time.…”

“…It is possible that this lower usage may be the result of reduced awareness of tobacco cessation resources among API members [13]. Furthermore, there has been less enthusiasm for promoting APIs’ use of the quit-lines, at least partly due to the plethora of sub-communities that must be served within the API community [14, 15]. …”

Nursing Research in Tobacco Use and Special Populations

“…However, the effectiveness of these interventions may be infl uenced by level of acculturation, as Chen and others (1993) found with Asian Americans. In addition, the heterogeneity among the ethnic subgroups within racial categories underscores the need to tailor interventions with ethnic identifi cation in mind (Chen & Tang, 2007;PerezStable et al, 2001). Setting can be used to increase success of interventions, such as a smoking cessation program integrated with worker health and safety training for Latino immigrants (Feldman, Christopher, Muniz, & Mejia, 2004).…”