Effectiveness of group interventions supported by Apps to quit smoking, promoted by nurses

Introduction Nurses have an essential role in smoking cessation. The Murcia Society of Family and Community Nursing (SEAPREMUR) launched a research project (GRUPALTAB-SEAPREMUR) to analyze the effectiveness of various group interventions to quit smoking, based on health education techniques and whith the App S’Acabó designed by the Spanish Society of Tobacco Specialists (SEDET). Nurses were trained in the protocol used in the interventions. Objective To compare the effectiveness of group interventions to quit smoking in the short and long term. Analyze the utility of the App to encourage smoking cessation. Material and Methods Multicenter randomized clinical trial conducted in Primary Care Center (PCC) in the Region of Murcia from 2018 to 2020 in two phases (P). Inclusion criteria: Being over 18 years old, wanting to quit smoking, speaking Spanish, having Internet access. Exclusion: Polydrug use, pregnant women or psychiatric pathology. The sample size was calculated and randomly assigned to the type of intervention. Interventions: Workshop of 2 to 4 hours inly session vs Course of 4 sessions of 2 hours duration for 1 month. The smoking abstinence at three months and one year (prevalence and OR; 95%CI) is calculated with SPSSV21, comparing the population that uses or not the App. Results In 2018, the study (P1) started in 8 PPC 228 participants: 54.2% women. They were followed-up for one year: 83 (46.1%). In 2019, the second phase (P2) was carried out in 16 PCC, with a shorter workshop (2:30h) and the same course (296 participants; 59.2% women) Global abstinence at 3 months (P1: 23.8%; P2: 20.9%) and at 12 months (P1: 31.7%). No significant statistical differences were observed in smoking cessation by sex, social class, or type of intervention, although abstinence was lower in the workshop: - P1 Workshop vs Course. OR at 3 months: 0.89 (95%CI: 0.38-2.08) OR at 12 months: 0.83 (95%CI: 0.32-2.57). - P2 Workshop vs Course. OR at 3 months: 0.61 (95%CI: 0.29-1.29). Use of App (P1: 42.1%; P2: 42.6%). An increase in quit attempts was observed in those who used the App compared to those who did not (P1 at 12 months: (37.7% vs 14.3%; p=0.047); P2 at 3 months: (54.5% vs 45.5%, p=0.01). Conclusions 1. Group smoking cessation interventions conducted by nurses are effective. 2. No significant differences were observed by type of group intervention. 3. The use of the App promotes quit attempts.