The Impact of Smoking Cessation Training-Counseling Programs on Success of Quitting Smoking in Patients with Acute Coronary Syndrome

Background: The smokers who use supportive programs have a greater chance to quit smoking. Smoking cessation recommendation is one of the most important prevention and treatment methods mentioned in care guidelines provided for patients with acute coronary syndrome. Aim: The main objective of this study is to determine the effects of training-counseling programs on smoking cessation in patients with acute coronary syndrome. Method: In this randomized controlled clinical trial, 51 patients with acute coronary syndrome in Ghaem and Imam Reza hospitals in Mashhad, 2015, after filling the Multinational Monitoring of Trends and Determinants in Cardiovascular Disease (MONICA) questionnaire, were categorized into two groups. Intervention group received smoking cessation training-counseling program and control group received some advices/recommendations to quit smoking. After a three-month telephone follow-up, smoking cessation standard questionnaire was filled for all patients. The data were analyzed using SPSS v11.5 and Chi-square test. Results: The age of study participants was 52.6± 7.9 and 56.2±12.3 for intervention and control group, respectively. According to Chi-square test, a significant difference was observed between intervention and control groups in first through fifth stages after the intervention in terms of succeed to quit smoking (p<0/05), but this difference wasn’t significant in sixth stage after intervention (p=0/06). Implications for Practice: According to the findings of the study and given that the nurses are in the frontline of treatment process and also because they spend more time with patients and have a major impact on them, it is suggested to take advantage of the nurses to improve smoking cessation training-counseling programs regarding patients with acute coronary syndrome.