Using a General Health Promotion Approach to Help Smokers With Chronic Diseases Quit
Smoking Cessation
About this trial
This is an interventional supportive care trial for Smoking Cessation
Eligibility Criteria
Inclusion Criteria:
- aged 18 years or above,
- able to speak Cantonese and read Chinese
- no intention to quit smoking (pre-contemplation stage), but are willing to take action to promote health
- have a smart phone and able to use instant messaging tool (e.g. WhatsApp, WeChat) for communication, and
- willing to receive health promotion advices via WhatsApp/WeChat in the smart phone throughout the study
Exclusion Criteria:
- unable to give informed consent or participate in our intervention due to impaired mental status, cognitive impairment, or communication barrier, and
- participation in other smoking cessation programmes or services
Sites / Locations
- The University of Hong KongRecruiting
Arms of the Study
Arm 1
Arm 2
Experimental
Other
Experimental group
Control group
The experimental group will receive individual face-to-face brief MI (about 5 minutes) on a health-related lifestyle practice. The experimental group will then receive a brief MI via WhatsApp/WeChat on a smartphone during the study period. The brief MI messages will be delivered more intensively as preferred by the subject (usually not less than once every 2 to 3 days and no more than 2 times per day) for the first 6 months. The frequency of delivering the messages via WhatsApp/WeChat will be interactive, depending on the subjects' actions and responses, and may take several sessions of chats within several days or weeks. After 6 months, minimal messages will be provided to the subjects by merely following their progress of behavioural changes and responding to their questions to maintain contact until the 1-year follow-up.
The control group will be given general brief advice and receive a self-help booklet on smoking cessation published by the Hong Kong Council on Smoking and Health with Hotline will be also provided in the SOPCs. The subjects in this group will receive the same schedule of follow-ups as in the intervention group, but they will not receive any follow-up booster intervention.