Facebook Intervention to Connect Alaska Native People with Resources and Support to Quit Smoking: CA
Tuesday, October 25, 2022
Posted by: Natalia Gromov
Patten
CA, Koller KR, Sinicrope PS, et al.
Facebook Intervention to
Connect Alaska Native People with Resources and Support to Quit Smoking: CAN
Quit Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial.
[published online ahead of print, 2022 Sep 20]. Nicotine Tob Res.
2022;ntac221. doi:10.1093/ntr/ntac221
Introduction. There
is some evidence that social media interventions can promote smoking cessation.
This randomized controlled pilot study is the first to evaluate the feasibility
and potential efficacy of a Facebook smoking cessation intervention among
Alaska Native adults.
Methods. Recruitment
and data collection occurred December 2019-March 2021. Participants were
recruited statewide in Alaska using Facebook advertisements with a targeted
sample of 60 enrolled. Participants were stratified by gender, age, and
rural/urban residence and randomly assigned to receive referral resources on
evidence-based cessation treatments (EBCTs) (control, n=30) or these resources
plus a three-month, closed/private, culturally tailored, Facebook group
(intervention, n=31) that connected participants to EBCT resources and was
moderated by two Alaska Native Trained Tobacco Specialists. Assessments were
conducted online post-randomization at one, three, and six months. Outcomes
were feasibility (recruitment, retention, intervention engagement),
self-reported use of EBCTs, and biochemically confirmed seven-day
point-prevalence smoking abstinence.
Results. Of
intervention participants, 90% engaged (e.g., posted, commented) more than
once. Study retention was 57% at six months (no group differences). The
proportion utilizing EBCTs was about double for intervention compared with the
control group participants at three and six months. Smoking abstinence was
higher for intervention than control participants at three months (6.5% vs. 0%,
p=0.16) but comparable at six months (6.4% vs. 6.7%, p=0.97).
Conclusions. While
additional research is needed to promote long-term cessation, this pilot trial
supports recruitment feasibility during the COVID-19 pandemic, consumer uptake,
and a signal for intervention efficacy on the uptake of cessation treatment and
short-term smoking abstinence.
Implications. This
study is the first evaluation of a social media intervention for smoking
cessation among Indigenous people. We learned that statewide Facebook
recruitment of Alaska Native adults who smoke was feasible and there was a
signal for the efficacy of a Facebook intervention on the uptake of
evidence-based cessation treatment and short-term (three months) biochemically
verified smoking abstinence. Clinically, social media platforms may complement
current care models by connecting Alaska Native individuals and others living
in hard-to-reach communities to cessation treatment resources.
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