Smoking cessation: nursing advice increases cessation.

Clinical bottom line (level 1a)

  1. Adult smokers who are given smoking cessation advice from nurses or health visitors, are more likely to achieve sustained cessation than those given usual care.
  2. The intervention was more useful in those with health problems.
Rice and Stead: The Cochrane Library, Issue 3. Oxford: Update Software 1999; 3: -
Expires March 2003

The study

Systematic review of Randomised trials of
  • Patients: adult smokers in any health care setting
  • Intervention: nursing advice intervention compared with usual care
  • Outcome: sustained smoking cessation


Articles found in ? using The Cochrane Tobacco Addiction Group register and CINAHL, up to 1999 (search terms: nurse or health visitor )

Selection criteria: as above
Appraisal criteria: detailed in text
Articles excluded if: Studies comparing advice versus advice plus some form of nicotine replacement and those where patients were followed for less than 6 months.

Nineteen trials were included.

The evidence

Outcome Time to outcome CER OR
(95% CI)		 NNT
(95% CI)
sustained smoking cessation unknown 402/3223
(12.5%)		 1.43
(1.24 to 1.66) 		22
(15 to 39)

  • More effect in those populations with smoking-related health concerns

Comments

  1. All trials sought consent of patients to be included in a trial of smoking cessation, and may well be more receptive than the general population

Citation

  1. Rice VH, and Stead LF: Nursing interventions for smoking cessation (Cochrane Review). The Cochrane Library, Issue 3. Oxford: Update Software 1999; 3: -
Contributor: Clare Wotton and Musab Hayatli, January 2000
Reviewer: Alec Chessman

Clinical Question.
Patient smokers
Intervention or Exposure nursing delivered smoking cessation intervention
Comparison usual care
Outcome cessation