A Self-Help Intervention for African American Smokers: Tailoring Cancer Information Service Counseling for a Special Population,

Background.African Americans remain a critically underserved group for smoking cessation interventions. This study tested the effectiveness of a tailored, culturally sensitive intervention for African American smokers who called the NCI Cancer Information Service (CIS) for help to quit smoking. Methods.This paper presents results of a 2-year study of tailored counseling strategies among African American smokers (n= 1,422) who called four regional CIS offices in response to a radio-based media campaign in 14 communities. Callers were randomly assigned to receive either the standard CIS quit smoking counseling and guide (Clearing the Air) or counseling and a guide (Pathways to Freedom) tailored to the quitting needs and barriers of African American smokers. Callers were predominantly female (63.6%). ages 20–49 (88%), with a high school education or more (84%). Median smoking history was 17 years; median smoking rate was 20 cigarettes/day. Standard (n= 689) and Tailored (n= 733) group subjects did not differ on most baseline measures. Results.On most measures, Standard and Tailored counseling/guides received similar ratings, but the Tailored guide was rated as having more appealing photos (P= 0.001) and as being more appropriate for family members (P= 0.003). Six-month follow-up with 893 subjects (response rates were 63% Standard, 62% Tailored, ns) showed significantly more quit attempts (P= 0.002) and greater use of prequitting strategies (P< 0.05) among Tailored than among Standard subjects, but no differences in self-reported 1-week abstinence (14.4% Standard, 16.2% Tailored) (ns). An opportunistic 12-month follow-up of subjects recruited in the last year of the study (n= 445) (response rates were 57% Standard, 60% Tailored, ns) showed a significantly higher quit rate (15.4% Standard, 25.0% Tailored) for Tailored subjects (P= 0.034). Conclusions.Results show promise for tailored approaches to boost quit attempts and success rates among African American smokers.