# EFFECTIVENESS OF SELF-HELP SMOKING CESSATION STRATEGIES

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIV OF NORTH CAROLINA CHAPEL HILL · 1987 · $424,978

## Abstract

We will develop three promising cost-effective self-help approaches to
smoking cessation and evaluate them in a large randomized controlled trial
among enrollees of Group Health Cooperative of Puget Sound, the fourth
largest HMO in the U.S.  The results will establish the value of a
comprehensive mailed quitting guide and assess whether minimal therapist
contact and bolstered natural social supports for quitting influence
results of a written self-help guide.  Multidimensional assessment will
clarify how these self-help approaches affect the methods, motivations, and
expectations of self-quitters and alter long-term changes in their smoking
behavior.

Prospective subjects will be recruited through Group Health's monthly
magazine and referrals by Group Health physicians and nurses.  Those
meeting inclusion criteria will receive a motivational letter, quit smoking
pamphlet, bibliography of self-help manuals, baseline questionnaire, and
consent form.  Subjects recruited will then be randomly assigned to one of
the following groups:  (1) the American Lung Association manual "A Lifetime
of Freedom from Smoking" plus a new quitting procedure incorporating
nicotine fading techniques; (2) the material in (1) plus information sent
to subject-identified supportive individuals on how to provide more
effective support to the prospective quitter; (3) the material in (2) plus
four telephone calls from a counselor; and (4) nothing beyond the initial
letter, pamphlet, and bibliography.  All materials will be sent through the
mail.

Follow-up of quit rates and experiences will be carried out by mailed
questionnaires with telephone follow-up at 6, 12, 24, and 36 months.
Salivary continine will be measured for all self-reported quitters at 36
months.  Program effectiveness and factors important in the quitting
process will be analyzed in relation to sex, age, source of referral, and
smoking history.  Our study will provide a rigorous, long-term evaluation
of three inexpensive, replicable self-help quit smoking approaches.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 3176309
- **Project number:** 5R01CA038223-04
- **Recipient organization:** UNIV OF NORTH CAROLINA CHAPEL HILL
- **SAM.gov UEI:** D3LHU66KBLD5
- **Principal Investigator:** Victor Schoenbach
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 1987
- **Award amount:** $424,978
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 1984-08-01 → 1989-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/3176309

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 3176309, EFFECTIVENESS OF SELF-HELP SMOKING CESSATION STRATEGIES (5R01CA038223-04). Retrieved via MORVS 2026-10-25 from https://api.morvs.ai/grant/nih/3176309. Licensed CC0.

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