Smoking cessation via the Internet: A randomized clinical trial of an Internet intervention as adjuvant treatment in a smoking cessation intervention

Abstract

Internet interventions for smoking cessation are ubiquitous. Yet, to date, there are few randomized clinical trials that gauge their efficacy. This study is a randomized clinical trial (N= 284, n= 140 in the treatment group, n= 144 in the control group) of an Internet smoking cessation intervention. Smokers were randomly assigned to receive either bupropion plus counseling alone, or bupropion and counseling in addition to 12 weeks of access to the Comprehensive Health Enhancement Support System for Smoking Cessation and Relapse Prevention (CHESS SCRP; a Web site which provided information on smoking cessation as well as support). We found that access to CHESS SCRP was not significantly related to abstinence at the end of the treatment period (OR= 1.13, 95% CI 0.66-2.62) or at 6 months postquit (OR= 1.48, 95% CI 0.66-2.62). However, the number of times participants used CHESS SCRP per week was related to abstinence at both end of treatment (OR= 1.79, 95% CI 1.25-2.56) and at the 6-month follow-up (OR= 1.59, 95% CI 1.06-2.38). Participants with access to CHESS SCRP logged in an average of 33.64 times (SD=30.76) over the 90-day period of access. Rates of CHESS SCRP use did not differ by ethnicity, level of education or gender (all p>.05). In sum, results suggest that participants used CHESS SCRP frequently, CHESS SCRP use was related to success, but the effects in general did not yield intergroup effects.

Recruitment of Live Donors by Candidates for Kidney Transplantation

“…Although there is a dearth of published studies of interventions to increase live donor transplantation, Rodrigue et al published a recent clinical trial that randomized renal transplant candidates to homebased education about live donor transplantation performed by a health educator (38). After a single home-based intervention, transplant candidates were more likely to express willingness to talk to potential donors, to have more potential live donor (39,40). Our study used a novel endpoint and measured relevant attributes but has several limitations.…”

Relapse prevention in UK Stop Smoking Services: current practice, systematic reviews of effectiveness and cost-effectiveness analysis.

“…Of the 18 studies [42][43][44][45][46][48][49][50][51][52][53][54][55][56][57][58][59][60] that randomised smokers, nine investigated the effectiveness of interventions matched for programme length, [42][43][44][45][46][48][49][50][51] six compared interventions of varying programme lengths [52][53][54][55][56][57] and two trials examined the effectiveness of RPI adjuncts to cessation programmes. 58,59 Thirteen of these trials verified self-reported smoking abstinence with carbon monoxide measurements, 42,45,46,[48][49][50][52][53][54][55]57,58,60 one used saliva thiocyanate, …”

“…58,59 Thirteen of these trials verified self-reported smoking abstinence with carbon monoxide measurements, 42,45,46,[48][49][50][52][53][54][55]57,58,60 one used saliva thiocyanate, 44 another saliva cotinine, 59 two verified abstinence with urine cotinine 43,56 and one used self-reported abstinence only. 51 …”

Computer-Assisted Delivery of Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy for Addiction: A Randomized Trial of CBT4CBT

“…However, there have been few evaluations of computer-assisted treatment, of any type, for the addictions. Much of this work has been done in the area of smoking, where several randomized trials of predominantly cognitive-behavioral interventions or self-help guidelines delivered via computers/internet have indicated positive effects on quit rates or attempts (27)(28)(29). Computerassisted brief motivational approaches and self-control training programs have shown promise in randomized controlled trials with problem drinkers (30,31) and college students (32).…”