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Effectiveness of group counselling for smoking cessation in hospital staff

Pneumology Division, University Hospitals Leuven, Belgium

CORRESPONDENCE: Annemie Schoonis, Pneumology Division, University Hospitals Leuven, Leuven, Belgium

Smoking prevalence among hospital staff is still considerable. It is well known that smoking cessation is difficult to establish without any help. Group counselling is effective for smoking cessation. In 2004, therefore, we decided to offer group counselling for smoking cessation to our hospital staff.

(1) To assess the efficacy of group counselling given by a multidisciplinary team of healthcare professionals.

(2) To determine the quit rate after group counselling in hospital staff.

The program is based on 10 group sessions of 90 min each. Each group contains a maximum of 16 participants. The group sessions were led by a nurse specialized in smoking cessation and consisted of education and behavioural interventions provided by health care professionals (respiratory physician, psychologist and a dietician). To improve smoking cessation motivation, spirometry (FEV1 and FVC) and exhaled CO were measured both at the start and at the end of the group counselling.

In total, 38 participants of 3 different groups entered group counselling. The mean age was 48 years, and 71% was female. They smoked an average of 20 cigarettes per day. Based on exhaled CO measurements and self-reports, smoking cessation, the quit rates after 6 months, 1 year and 2 years were, 27/35 (77%), 25/35 (72%) and 23/35 (66%), respectively.

Group counselling program on smoking cessation in hospital staff based on 10 group sessions was able to induce a remarkably high amount of quitters. The hospital setting offered the opportunity to meet the group participants frequently afterwards, what might have helped in keeping the quitting results at about the same level, even after 2 years’ follow-up.