Smoking Cessation Programme in Workplaces in Hong Kong (Phase Ⅴ)

Summary

Smoking causes cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, cancers and diabetes, and it has been a leading risk factor for death globally. Despite the availability of smoking cessation services locally, most smokers do not use such services. Workplace is one of the most convenient platforms to provide smoking cessation services and over 55% of smokers are employed according to the local population-based survey. Moreover, The COVID-19 pandemic and new normal increase in mental health burden to people in the workplace. An online survey during the pandemic found 88% of Hong Kong employees suffered from stress at work during the past 7 days. Mental health can be both precursors and consequences of smoking. However, the effectiveness of a smoking cessation programme conducted in workplace is yet to be examined in Hong Kong, and the mental health support for smoking employees in promoting smoking cessation is not clear. Thus, this study aims to test, by a 2-arm RCT, the effectiveness of an intervention of which includes mobile phone-based intervention on reducing mental health symptoms and smoking cessation in workplaces in Hong Kong; identify facilitators and barriers of successful policy implementation and quitting; examine and evaluate the company environment and their policies in promoting smoking cessation.

Conditions

• Smoking Cessation

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

General 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

Personalized chat-based interactions

Individual chat-based interactions last 3 months and consist of 2 parts. First part is regular message. The schedule will be adjusted according to the participants' quitting and mental health status. The second part includes real-time psycho-behavioral intervention delivered by trained cessation counsellors using the acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) model for smoking cessation and reliving mental health problems. The conversation is based on participants' socio-demographic characteristics, smoking habit at baseline, and updated smoking status and mental health status assessed during online conversation and the baseline questionnaire.

BEHAVIORAL

Text message

Regular messages will be sent twice per month within 3 months. These messages covers simple cessation advice and reminders for follow-ups.

BEHAVIORAL

Phone follow-up/counselling service

The intervention outcomes and participants' smoking status will be followed up regularly via telephone interviews (15 - 30 minutes).

DRUG

Mailed nicotine replacement therapy (NRT)

Full course of NRT treatment (8 weeks) will be provided to all participants who are still smoking at 6-month follow-up and request, or willing to use NRT after advice from counsellors. Medications will be mailed from the smoking cessation clinics.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Lok Sin Tong Benevolent Society, Kowloon

  collaborator OTHER

• The University of Hong Kong

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Man Ping Wang, PhD · The University of Hong Kong

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

HEALTH_SERVICES_RESEARCH

Masking

SINGLE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

18 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2021-04-15

Primary Completion

2023-12-30

Completion

2023-12-30

Countries

• Hong Kong

Study Locations