A school nurse-delivered adolescent smoking cessation intervention: a randomized controlled trial

Lori Pbert, University of Massachusetts Medical School
Stavroula K. Osganian, University of Massachusetts Medical School
Diane Gorak, Massachusetts Department of Public Health
Susan Druker, University of Massachusetts Medical School
George W. Reed, University of Massachusetts Medical School
Katherine M. O'Neill, Framingham Public Schools
Anne Sheetz, Massachusetts Department of Public Health

Abstract

BACKGROUND: The aim of the present study was to evaluate the efficacy of a school nurse-delivered smoking cessation intervention to improve abstinence rates among adolescents interested in quitting.

METHODS: Seventy-one high schools in Massachusetts were randomized to either a four-session one-on-one school nurse-delivered smoking cessation intervention (37 schools, n = 571) or usual smoking cessation care control condition (34 schools, n = 577). Adolescents in grades 9-12 who smoked in the past 30 days completed surveys at baseline, 6 weeks and 3 months. The study was conducted during the 2002-2003 school year.

RESULTS: Thirty-day self-reported abstinence rates were significantly greater in students in the intervention compared to control condition at 6 weeks (18% vs. 2%, respectively) and 3 months (24% vs. 5%, respectively). After adjusting for school and potential confounders, students in the intervention schools had odds of quitting 8 times greater than students in the control schools at 6 weeks (OR = 8.4; 95% CI 3.7, 20.6) and 6 times greater at 3 months (OR = 6.4; 95% CI 3.4, 11.4). School nurses delivered intervention with a high degree of fidelity.

CONCLUSIONS: A four-session smoking cessation intervention can feasibly be delivered by school nurses and increase self-reported short-term abstinence rates among students interested in quitting smoking.

Citation: Prev Med. 2006 Oct;43(4):312-20.