Telephone counselling for smoking cessation

Abstract

Background Telephone services can provide information and support for smokers. Counselling may be provided proactively or o ered reactively to callers to smoking cessation helplines. Objectives To evaluate the e ect of telephone support to help smokers quit, including proactive or reactive counselling, or the provision of other information to smokers calling a helpline. Search methods We searched the Cochrane Tobacco Addiction Group Specialised Register, clinicaltrials.gov, and the ICTRP for studies of telephone counselling, using search terms including 'hotlines' or 'quitline' or 'helpline'. Date of the most recent search: May 2018. Selection criteria Randomised or quasi-randomised controlled trials which o ered proactive or reactive telephone counselling to smokers to assist smoking cessation. Data collection and analysis We used standard methodological procedures expected by Cochrane. We pooled studies using a random-e ects model and assessed statistical heterogeneity amongst subgroups of clinically comparable studies using the I 2 statistic. In trials including smokers who did not call a quitline, we used meta-regression to investigate moderation of the e ect of telephone counselling by the planned number of calls in the intervention, trial selection of participants that were motivated to quit, and the baseline support provided together with telephone counselling (either self-help only, brief face-to-face intervention, pharmacotherapy, or financial incentives). Main results We identified 104 trials including 111,653 participants that met the inclusion criteria. Participants were mostly adult smokers from the general population, but some studies included teenagers, pregnant women, and people with long-term or mental health conditions. Most trials (58.7%) were at high risk of bias, while 30.8% were at unclear risk, and only 11.5% were at low risk of bias for all domains assessed. Most studies (100/104) assessed proactive telephone counselling, as opposed to reactive forms. Among trials including smokers who contacted helplines (32,484 participants), quit rates were higher for smokers receiving multiple sessions of proactive counselling (risk ratio (RR) 1.38, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.19 to 1.61; 14 trials, 32,484 participants; I 2 = 72%) Telephone counselling for smoking cessation (Review)

Feasibility and Acceptability of a Telephone-Based Smoking Cessation Intervention for Qatari Residents

“…The disruption of the program by the COVID-19 pandemic allowed us to observe the effects of two different referral systems: active (counselors recruited participants on-site at the clinics) and passive (counselors received contact details of interested patients from physicians). Even though the time of recruitment for the active referral was shorter than the passive, the results showed comparable feasibility for both enrolment procedures, similar to other studies [ 11 ]. We did see a higher retention at EOT post-COVID compared to pre-COVID.…”

Feasibility and Acceptability of a Telephone-Based Smoking Cessation Intervention for Qatari Residents

“…The disruption of the program by the COVID-19 pandemic allowed us to observe the effects of two different referral systems: active (counselors recruited participants on-site at the clinics) and passive (counselors received contact details of interested patients from physicians). Even though the time of recruitment for the active referral was shorter than the passive, the results showed comparable feasibility for both enrolment procedures, similar to other studies [ 11 ]. We did see a higher retention at EOT post-COVID compared to pre-COVID.…”

Impact of a Smoking Cessation Quitline in Vietnam: Evidence Base and Future Directions

“…In accordance with the present results, previous studies have demonstrated that pre-existing quitting attempts are associated with the confidence to stop and to maintain a smoke cessation plan [17]. Thus, in the future, quitline counseling should build up a client profile and offer tailored and personalized counseling based on callers’ quitting characteristics rather than providing intensive counseling for all callers [18].…”

“…This also accords with earlier observations which have shown that callers who receive multiple instances of call-back counseling [29] and satisfaction scores are associated with service uptake and greater improvement of long-term abstinence and success rates [30]. To improve patient satisfaction, the quitline should offer three to five instances of call-back counselling [18] in combination with how to enhance the skills of counselors because counselor effects contribute to increasing quit rates by 2% [31]. In addition, this telephone counseling might consider taking advantage of eHealth/mHealth innovations in order to provide further web-based or text messaging tracking tools since a strong relationship between the application of eHealth and/or mHealth programs, and greater improvement of prolonged abstinence has been reported in the literature [32].…”

Long-Term Effectiveness of a Quitline for Smoking Cessation: Results of a Randomized Controlled Trial

“…Overall, participants in the ITT sample were found to be twice as likely to report 9-month prolonged abstinence at 12-month follow-up than participants in the control group and about 4 times more likely in the CC sample. The pro-longed abstinence rates in the current study were higher than those reported in former research (ranging from 4% to 15%) [4,32,33]. The disparity in prolonged abstinence rates may be explained by differences in sample characteristics, especially participants' motivation to quit.…”

Feasibility and Acceptability of a Telephone-Based Smoking Cessation Intervention for Qatari Residents

“…The disruption of the program by the COVID-19 pandemic allowed us to observe the effects of two different referral systems: active (counselors recruited participants on-site at the clinics) and passive (counselors received contact details of interested patients from physicians). Even though the time of recruitment for the active referral was shorter than the passive, the results showed comparable feasibility for both enrolment procedures, similar to other studies [ 11 ]. We did see a higher retention at EOT post-COVID compared to pre-COVID.…”

Impact of a Smoking Cessation Quitline in Vietnam: Evidence Base and Future Directions

“…In accordance with the present results, previous studies have demonstrated that pre-existing quitting attempts are associated with the confidence to stop and to maintain a smoke cessation plan [17]. Thus, in the future, quitline counseling should build up a client profile and offer tailored and personalized counseling based on callers’ quitting characteristics rather than providing intensive counseling for all callers [18].…”

“…This also accords with earlier observations which have shown that callers who receive multiple instances of call-back counseling [29] and satisfaction scores are associated with service uptake and greater improvement of long-term abstinence and success rates [30]. To improve patient satisfaction, the quitline should offer three to five instances of call-back counselling [18] in combination with how to enhance the skills of counselors because counselor effects contribute to increasing quit rates by 2% [31]. In addition, this telephone counseling might consider taking advantage of eHealth/mHealth innovations in order to provide further web-based or text messaging tracking tools since a strong relationship between the application of eHealth and/or mHealth programs, and greater improvement of prolonged abstinence has been reported in the literature [32].…”

Long-Term Effectiveness of a Quitline for Smoking Cessation: Results of a Randomized Controlled Trial

“…Overall, participants in the ITT sample were found to be twice as likely to report 9-month prolonged abstinence at 12-month follow-up than participants in the control group and about 4 times more likely in the CC sample. The pro-longed abstinence rates in the current study were higher than those reported in former research (ranging from 4% to 15%) [4,32,33]. The disparity in prolonged abstinence rates may be explained by differences in sample characteristics, especially participants' motivation to quit.…”

Feasibility and Acceptability of a Telephone-Based Smoking Cessation Intervention for Qatari Residents

“…The disruption of the program by the COVID-19 pandemic allowed us to observe the effects of two different referral systems: active (counselors recruited participants on-site at the clinics) and passive (counselors received contact details of interested patients from physicians). Even though the time of recruitment for the active referral was shorter than the passive, the results showed comparable feasibility for both enrolment procedures, similar to other studies [ 11 ]. We did see a higher retention at EOT post-COVID compared to pre-COVID.…”

Impact of a Smoking Cessation Quitline in Vietnam: Evidence Base and Future Directions

“…In accordance with the present results, previous studies have demonstrated that pre-existing quitting attempts are associated with the confidence to stop and to maintain a smoke cessation plan [17]. Thus, in the future, quitline counseling should build up a client profile and offer tailored and personalized counseling based on callers’ quitting characteristics rather than providing intensive counseling for all callers [18].…”

“…This also accords with earlier observations which have shown that callers who receive multiple instances of call-back counseling [29] and satisfaction scores are associated with service uptake and greater improvement of long-term abstinence and success rates [30]. To improve patient satisfaction, the quitline should offer three to five instances of call-back counselling [18] in combination with how to enhance the skills of counselors because counselor effects contribute to increasing quit rates by 2% [31]. In addition, this telephone counseling might consider taking advantage of eHealth/mHealth innovations in order to provide further web-based or text messaging tracking tools since a strong relationship between the application of eHealth and/or mHealth programs, and greater improvement of prolonged abstinence has been reported in the literature [32].…”

Long-Term Effectiveness of a Quitline for Smoking Cessation: Results of a Randomized Controlled Trial

“…Overall, participants in the ITT sample were found to be twice as likely to report 9-month prolonged abstinence at 12-month follow-up than participants in the control group and about 4 times more likely in the CC sample. The pro-longed abstinence rates in the current study were higher than those reported in former research (ranging from 4% to 15%) [4,32,33]. The disparity in prolonged abstinence rates may be explained by differences in sample characteristics, especially participants' motivation to quit.…”