A Telephone-Based Tobacco Cessation Program in the State of Qatar: Protocol of a Feasibility Study

Mohammed Al Thani, Vasiliki Leventakou, Angeliki Sofroniou, Safa M. Eltayeb, Eman Sadoun, Iman A. Hakim, Cynthia Thomson and Uma Nair
Additional contact information
Mohammed Al Thani: Public Health Department, Ministry of Public Health, Doha P.O. Box 42, Qatar
Vasiliki Leventakou: Health Research Governance Department, Ministry of Public Health, Doha P.O. Box 42, Qatar
Angeliki Sofroniou: Public Health Department, Ministry of Public Health, Doha P.O. Box 42, Qatar
Safa M. Eltayeb: Public Health Department, Ministry of Public Health, Doha P.O. Box 42, Qatar
Eman Sadoun: Health Research Governance Department, Ministry of Public Health, Doha P.O. Box 42, Qatar
Iman A. Hakim: Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85724, USA
Cynthia Thomson: Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85724, USA
Uma Nair: Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85724, USA

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 9, 1-8

Abstract: In Qatar, tobacco is the leading preventable cause of death and disease. Telephone-based interventions for smoking are cost-effective and scalable interventions that are effective in promoting smoking behavior change. While many countries have implemented these services within their tobacco control programs, there is a distinct dearth of a telephone-based smoking cessation intervention that is adapted and tailored to meet the needs of people who smoke in Qatar. This study presents the protocol of a primary health care center integrated smoking quitline program in Qatar. Participants will be recruited from seven smoking clinics (recruitment sites). Trained clinic staff will provide brief advice on quitting followed by a referral to the quitline. Eligible participants (male smokers over 18 years of age) will complete baseline questionnaires and receive five weekly proactive counseling calls, an end-of-treatment assessment (approx. 1 week after Session 5), and 1- and 3-month follow-up assessments. The main aim of this study is to assess the feasibility and acceptability, which include the recruitment and retention rate, compliance to pharmacotherapy, and participant satisfaction. This is the first study to integrate an evidence-based smoking cessation intervention delivered via telephone within the healthcare system in Qatar. If effective, results can inform the development of a large-scale telephone-based program that widely reaches users of tobacco in Qatar as well as in the Middle East.

Keywords: smoking quitline; Middle East; feasibility study; cognitive behavioral therapy; public health intervention (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/9/4750/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/9/4750/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:18:y:2021:i:9:p:4750-:d:546094

Access Statistics for this article

IJERPH is currently edited by Ms. Jenna Liu

More articles in IJERPH from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().