Abstract

ENHANCING PARTNER SUPPORT AND INTERACTION IN IMPROVING SMOKING CESSATION: A META-ANALYSIS

Wejdan Abdullah Bamusa*, Khulod M. Abdullah, Fahad Solaiman Alanizy, Ghaidaa Zaki Arif, Wejdan Abdulrahman Alghamdi, Mohammed Helal Alanazi, Ahmed Abdullah Ojaem, Yusra Mohammed Alkhalifa, Ahmad Anas AlKhayari, Mohammed Ahmed Hasaballah

Abstract

Background & Purpose: Smoking cessation is an important behavior change that can have considerable effects on health outcomes. The initiation and cessation of smoking are strongly stimulated with the aid of different circle of relatives‟ members. The aim of this work is to provide cumulative data about the effect of partner support and interaction on improving smoking cessation. Methods: A systematic search was performed of PubMed, Cochrane library Ovid, Scopus & Google scholar to identify family medicine RCTs, clinical trials, and comparative studies, which studied the outcome of Interventional group (with partner support) versus Control group. A meta-analysis was done using fixed-effects methods. The primary outcome of interest was 3-months cessation rate. Secondary outcome was 6-months or more “cessation rate”. Results: A total of 5 studies were identified involving 1850 participants, with 888 participants in Interventional group, and 962 participants in Control group. Regarding primary outcome measures, fixed-effects model of the meta-analysis study showed highly significant increase in 3-month cessation rate in Interventional group (p = 0.002). Regarding secondary outcome measure, fixed- effects model of the meta-analysis study showed significant increase in 6-month cessation rate in Interventional group (p = 0.028). Conclusion: To conclude, there may be a strong evidence that interventions directed closer to individual smokers increase the probability of quitting smoking. these include individual and group counselling, pharmacological treatment to overcome nicotine addiction, and more than one intervention targeting smoking cessation.

Keywords: Partner Support, Smoking Cessation.