Pilot Study Results from a Brief Intervention to Create Smoke-Free Homes

Abstract

Very few community-based intervention studies have examined how to effectively increase the adoption of smoke-free homes. A pilot study was conducted to test the feasibility, acceptability, and short-term outcomes of a brief, four-component intervention for promoting smoke-free home policies among low-income households. We recruited forty participants (20 smokers and 20 nonsmokers) to receive the intervention at two-week intervals. The design was a pretest-posttest with follow-up at two weeks after intervention. The primary outcome measure was self-reported presence of a total home smoking ban. At follow-up, 78% of participants reported having tried to establish a smoke-free rule in their home, with significantly more nonsmokers attempting a smoke-free home than smokers (P=.03). These attempts led to increased smoking restrictions, that is, going from no ban to a partial or total ban, or from a partial to a total ban, in 43% of the homes. At follow-up, 33% of the participants reported having made their home totally smoke-free. Additionally, smokers reported smoking fewer cigarettes per day. Results suggest that the intervention is promising and warrants a rigorous efficacy trial.