Feasibility of a support person intervention to promote smoking cessation treatment use among smokers with mental illness

Social support may be an effective strategy to increase engagement in cessation treatment for smokers with mental illness. The purpose of this pilot study was to assess the feasibility of a support person intervention linking smokers with mental illness to an online smoking cessation decision aid. We conducted a 12-week pilot study of a one-session telephone coaching intervention ("Care2Quit") to train nonsmoking family members and friends (i.e., support persons) to promote the use of an online cessation decision aid by smokers with mental illness. The primary aim of the study was to assess the feasibility of the support person intervention by examining recruitment, retention, adherence, and participant satisfaction. A secondary aim was to explore changes in the hypothesized mechanism underlying the intervention effect (i.e., cessation support provided) and primary outcome (i.e., smoker use of online cessation decision aid). Seventeen support persons enrolled, of which 94% (n = 16) completed the telephone coaching intervention. Eighty-eight percent of support persons rated the intervention as highly acceptable. Self-reported cessation supportive behaviors by the support person increased significantly by 6 weeks post intervention. Forty-one percent of smokers (n = 7) linked to support persons used the online cessation decision aid by 12 weeks following the support person's telephone coaching session. Preliminary results from this study demonstrate the feasibility of a support person intervention to promote the use of smoking cessation treatment among smokers with mental illness. Future research to evaluate the efficacy of the Care2Quit support partner intervention is warranted.