Paper
Thursday, July 12, 2007
The Buddy System: An Effective Intervention for Tobacco Cessation for Young Adults
Evelyn R. Hayes, PhD, APRN, BC1, Leta P. Aljadir, MS, RD2, and Lisa Plowfield, PhD, RN1. (1) School of Nursing, University of Delaware, Newark, DE, USA, (2) Health, Nutrition, and Exercise Sciences, University of Delaware, Newark, DE, USA
| Learning Objective #1: describe the effectiveness of The Buddy System, a peer support strategy, for tobacco cessation. |
| Learning Objective #2: identify young adults' reasons for choosing to continue to smoke cigarettes. |
One of the fastest growing cohorts using tobacco is teens and young adults. The well-known risks, ongoing health education initiatives, and risk taking attitudes of this cohort make understanding of tobacco use complex. Even more complex is developing effective cessation strategies for youth who already smoke cigarettes. Based on the findings of Hayes and Plowfield’s descriptive study indicating young adults’ preferences for tobacco cessation programs, this study tested the effectiveness of the Buddy System, a peer support intervention, as a cessation strategy for young adults. Each subject chose a peer “buddy” to help provide support, education, and encouragement for tobacco cessation. Using a pretest-posttest design, each subject provided a self report on numbers of cigarettes smoked during weekdays and week-ends at the beginning and upon completion of the study. In addition, subjects also completed a descriptive, informative survey about their experiences and beliefs related to smoking and tobacco cessation. In this sample (n=37) of college age adults (age range 18-24 years) who regularly smoked cigarettes, the number of cigarettes smoked during week-days significantly decreased when analyzed using the Wilcoxon signed ranks test( Z=(-2.76), p=.006). No statistically significant change occurred in number of cigarettes smoked during the week-ends. Using thematic analysis to understand more of the complexities related to tobacco cessation, it became evident that cigarette smokers who decreased their use or stopped smoking, gained a greater understanding of personal triggers that caused them to “light up.” The most common reason reported for smoking was stress related. Those who decreased or quit smoking reported less frequently that smoking was a relaxing activity.