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Reaching and treating Spanish‐speaking smokers through the National Cancer Institute's cancer information service
Author(s) -
Wetter David W.,
Mazas Carlos,
Daza Patricia,
Nguyen Lynne,
Fouladi Rachel T.,
Li Yisheng,
CoftaWoerpel Ludmila
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
cancer
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.052
H-Index - 304
eISSN - 1097-0142
pISSN - 0008-543X
DOI - 10.1002/cncr.22360
Subject(s) - medicine , smoking cessation , socioeconomic status , randomized controlled trial , telephone counseling , guideline , family medicine , population , cancer , immigration , demography , gerontology , environmental health , archaeology , pathology , sociology , history
Although the prevalence of smoking is lower among Hispanics than among the general population, smoking still levies a heavy public health burden on this underserved group. The current study, Adiós al Fumar (Goodbye to Smoking), was designed to increase the reach of the Spanish‐language smoking cessation counseling service provided by the National Cancer Institute's Cancer Information Service (CIS) and to evaluate the efficacy of a culturally sensitive, proactive, behavioral treatment program among Spanish‐speaking smokers. Adiós was a 2‐group randomized clinical trial evaluating a telephone‐based smoking cessation intervention. Spanish‐speaking smokers ( N = 297) were randomized to receive either standard counseling or enhanced counseling (EC). Paid media was used to increase the reach of the Spanish‐language smoking cessation services offered by the CIS. The Adiós sample was of very low socioeconomic status (SES), and more than 90% were immigrants. Calls to the CIS requesting smoking cessation help in Spanish increased from 0.39 calls to 17.8 calls per month. The unadjusted effect of EC only approached significance (OR = 2.4, P = .077), but became significant after controlling for demographic and tobacco‐related variables (OR = 3.8, P = .048). Adiós al Fumar demonstrated that it is possible to reach, retain, and deliver an adequate dose of treatment to a very low SES population that has traditionally been viewed as difficult to reach and hard to follow. Moreover, the findings suggest that a proactive, telephone‐counseling program, based on the Treating Tobacco Use and Dependence Clinical Practice Guideline and adapted to be culturally appropriate for Hispanics, is effective. Cancer 2007. © 2006 American Cancer Society.