Smoking cessation advice from health professionals: process evaluation of a community-based program

The study assessed whether exposure to advice to quit smoking from health care professionals was greater in North Karelia, an area with a community-based, long-term intervention integrated within the health care structure, than in the rest of Finland. Data were collected by health behavior surveys during 1978-1995. Adult regular smokers and those who had quit during the preceding 12 months were surveyed. We measured exposure to cessation advice by questioning, whether the person had been advised by a doctor or public health nurse to give up smoking at least once during the year preceding the survey. Men from the intervention area had a significantly higher likelihood of having been advised to quit than those elsewhere in Finland. The same trend emerged among women, but it was not significant. It is concluded that a community-based intervention program can encourage health professionals to increase their smoking cessation advice. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd.