Evaluation of an Intensive Individualized Smoking Cessation Program Delivered by Pharmacists

Memorial University of Newfoundland

Status: Completed

Conditions: Quality of Life; Smoking, Tobacco; Smoking Cessation

Treatments: Behavioral: Abbreviated Smoking Cessation Group; Behavioral: Intensive Smoking Cessation Group

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT03597607

HREB 6946

Details and patient eligibility

About

This study aims to look at the efficacy and impact of a pharmacist-led smoking cessation program. It will assess an intensive program and an abbreviated program, with the latter being evaluated for feasibility in community pharmacies. Participants will be in one of two groups: intensive or abbreviated. Smoking abstinence rates, self-efficacy and overall satisfaction will be compared. Additionally, a cost-effectiveness analysis will be executed to determine the feasibility of customized smoking cessation programs in community pharmacies across Newfoundland and Labrador.

Full description

One in five deaths in Canada is linked to smoking. It kills up to 50% of its users and over 7 million people each year. Smoking is also a risk factor for several harmful health consequences that affect the quality of life of those who smoke. It also results in substantial economic costs to society.

Newfoundland and Labrador (NL) has the highest smoking prevalence of Canadian provinces; approximately 18.5% of Newfoundlanders smoke on a daily or occasional basis compared to the national average of 13.0%. The Conference Board of Canada reported this year that smoking costs the local NL economy approximately $135 million per year in direct healthcare costs and $53 million in indirect costs, for a total of $188 million.

According to the CAN-ADAPTT Smoking Cessation Clinical Practice Guideline, several intensive counseling interventions are the most effective for smoking cessation. Offering a combination of counseling and pharmacotherapy increases the likelihood that a person will try to quit by 40-60%. Using this evidence, Memorial University's School of Pharmacy recently established a smoking cessation program at the Medication Therapy Services (MTS) Clinic. The program involves in-depth pharmacist consultation, which includes pharmacotherapy and multiple follow-up counseling sessions.

The investigators propose to test the effectiveness of an intensive and abbreviated smoking cessation program (SCP) delivered by trained pharmacists at the MTS Clinic. They hope that findings from this study will inform stakeholders of the value of the program and of the pharmacists' role. If the program is determined to be effective it could be instrumental in applying smoking cessation programs in community pharmacies across the province, including rural and remote locations.

To date there are only a small number of studies that use the randomized, controlled trial design to evaluate the effectiveness of pharmacist delivered interventions. In addition, data is lacking on the perspective of and satisfaction with smoking cessation services from the eyes of someone who participates in the program. Therefore, this study proposes to execute a randomized control trial to determine the effectiveness of a pharmacist-led smoking cessation program. Cost-effectiveness and a qualitative assessment of participant's journey to quit smoking will also be assessed.

Enrollment: 150 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 19+ years old

Volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• Adults including anyone 19 or older who wish to make a change in their smoking.

Exclusion criteria

• People who do not smoke

Trial design

Primary purpose: Supportive Care

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: Single Blind

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150 participants in 2 patient groups

Intensive Smoking Cessation Group

Experimental group

Description:

This group will meet with a clinic pharmacist one on one over a period of about 12 weeks. They will have session ranging from 15 mins to 1 hour. Follow-up sessions will occur during quit week(week 1) and at weeks 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12 and at 6 months.

Treatment:

Behavioral: Intensive Smoking Cessation Group

Abbreviated Smoking Cessation Group

Experimental group

Description:

This group will meet with a clinic pharmacist one on one over a period of about 12 weeks. They will have brief sessions (15-30 mins) at the end of week 1, week 4, week 12 and at 6 months.

Treatment:

Behavioral: Abbreviated Smoking Cessation Group