Promoting Tobacco Control and Smoking Cessation in Workplaces [Phase I]

Summary

Previous research shows a significant proportion of smokers work in full-time employment. Given that the majority of smokers do not aware of the smoking cessation services available in Hong Kong, implementing smoking cessation policy in the workplaces may assist a considerable number of smokers to stop or reduce smoking.

This study aims to:

1. examine the employers' knowledge, attitudes and practices in promoting smoking cessation in workplace.
2. test the effectiveness of a brief and an intensive smoking cessation interventions to help workers stop smoking

In Phase I of this study, a large scale cross-sectional survey will be conducted to 3000 corporate companies in Hong Kong. The questionnaire will examine the employers' knowledge, attitudes and practices in promoting smoking cessation in the workplaces.

In Phase II, a longitudinal study will be conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of a smoking cessation intervention offered by the Department of Psychology, the University of Hong Kong. Smokers from the participating companies will be interviewed before the intervention at baseline, immediately after the intervention, and at 1-, 4-, 12-, 26- and 52-week post-intervention follow-ups.

The follow-up assessments will consist of a biochemical validation for the self-reported quitters who report quitting in the past 7 days via exhaled carbon monoxide and saliva cotinine concentration tests. Participants' smoking behaviour, knowledge on smoking and satisfaction of the smoking cessation services will also be evaluated.

It is hypothesized that the smoking cessation intervention helps workers stop smoking. Employers' knowledge and attitudes are positively associated with the practices in promoting smoking cessation in workplace.

Process evaluation: Qualitative interviews, including in-depth interviews and/or focus group will be conducted after 6-month follow-up.

Conditions

• Smoking

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

Workshop

Intensive psychological intervention included motivation of quitting enhancement, stress management and smoking triggers, craving and relapse are used to provide smoking cessation intervention

BEHAVIORAL

Face-to-face counseling

Use motivational interview strategies through face-to-face counseling to provide smoking cessation intervention

BEHAVIORAL

Phone counseling

Use motivational interview strategies through phone counseling to provide smoking cessation intervention.

BEHAVIORAL

Health talk

Health talk provided information about hazards of tobacco (active smoking, second- and third-hand smoke), benefits of quitting smoking and methods to quit smoking.

BEHAVIORAL

Booklet

A 26-page booklet included information about smoking and diseases, benefits of quitting smoking, methods to quit smoking, how to handle withdrawal symptoms, stress management, declaration of quitting smoking, decisional balance of smoking or quitting.

BEHAVIORAL

SMS

Fifteen SMS were sent to subjects included welcome messages, risk of smoking, correction of myths about smoking or quitting, quitting tips, benefits of quitting, encouragement of quitting

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Lok Sin Tong Benevolent Society, Kowloon

  collaborator OTHER

• The University of Hong Kong

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Tai Hing Lam, MD · The University of Hong Kong

Study Design

Allocation

NON_RANDOMIZED

Purpose

HEALTH_SERVICES_RESEARCH

Masking

NONE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

18 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2012-12-31

Primary Completion

2015-07-31

Completion

2015-07-31

Countries

• China

Study Locations