1 research outputs found
Systematic delivery of a smoking cessation intervention after discharge from a secondary care setting
Background
Hospital admission provides an ideal opportunity to promote smoking
cessation. Clinical guidelines recommend delivery of cessation interventions for
all admissions but no research to date has focused on supporting smokers who
successfully abstain from smoking whilst in hospital to maintain abstinence
after discharge.
We therefore designed a trial
to test the effectiveness of an intensive home support intervention to maintain
abstinence from smoking for newly abstinent smokers leaving hospital
Methods
Participants were recruited from 18 medical wards in one large teaching
hospital in the UK and were individually randomised to either intervention or usual
care using concealed allocation. During inpatient stay both treatment
groups received smoking cessation support as recommended in NICE PH48 guidance.
At discharge, patients randomised to usual care were offered a referral to a community
Stop Smoking Service (SSS). Patients randomised to the intervention group were
offered a home visit (or telephone call if a home visit is refused), as soon as
practicable after discharge and typically within 48 hours, to deliver a
multi-component intervention which included personalised behavioural support
and nicotine replacement therapies (NRT). All smokers were asked to give consent to be
contacted at four-weeks and three-months after discharge to assess smoking
status and use of cessation support.
Results
404 patients
were randomised in total. 200 to intervention and 204 to usual care. Primary
outcome data were available at four-weeks for 149 and 134 patients,
respectively. Preliminary results demonstrate no statistically significant
difference in quit rates between treatment groups at either 4 (21.00%
intervention, 19.12% usual care) or 12 weeks (19.50% Intervention and 16.18%
Usual Care) following discharge.
Conclusions
Adding a home visit to deliver additional smoking cessation support to patients
who have remained abstinent during their hospital stay and treated according to
NICE PH48 guidance does not increase quit rates