A Family Intervention to Reduce Smoking among Chinese and Vietnamese Men
Location(s): United States
Description
A Family Intervention to Reduce Smoking in Chinese and Vietnamese Men Tobacco use disparities remain in subgroups of Asian men, particularly among those of low English proficiencies and immigrants from cultures where smoking prevalence is high, including Chinese- and Vietnamese-American men. The 2007 California Health Interview Survey estimates that nearly half (47.3 percent) of Asian male smokers in California are either Chinese or Vietnamese. Chinese and Vietnamese smokers underutilize state telephone quitline services, smoking cessation medications, and health providers' advice. Our recent research has shown the feasibility of recruiting Chinese smokers into a smoking cessation program through their families. Among Vietnamese men, having smoking-related family conflicts was a strong correlate with having intention to quit smoking and having quit successfully within the past 5 years. Involving smokers' families to promote intention to quit and to utilize cessation resources among Chinese and Vietnamese has enormous potential to reduce smoking in these populations. This study will use a mixed methods research design to develop and pre-test a family intervention using lay health worker (LHW) outreach to involve both smokers' families and smokers to promote smoking cessation in Chinese- and Vietnamese-American men. We aim to: 1) develop a culturally and linguistically appropriate family intervention targeting Chinese and Vietnamese smokers; and 2) conduct a pilot trial to examine feasibility of the proposed intervention. The development of the proposed family intervention will be guided by qualitative individual and dyadic interviews of Chinese and Vietnamese smokers and their families, community input (advisory boards and focus groups), and literature integrating 3 theories: Social Network Theory, Social Cognitive Theory, and the Transtheoretical Model. We will conduct a pilot trial using a one-group pre- and post- intervention design with 48 smoker-family dyads. Self-identified Chinese and Vietnamese males who smoke daily during the past 7 days and one family member from the same household will be recruited by LHW outreach. The primary outcomes measured are recruitment feasibility, attendance, and acceptability of the intervention. Secondary outcomes measured are comparisons of pre- and post-intervention changes in: family members' provision of support for their smokers, smokers' perceived support from their family, smokers' utilization of resources, quit intentions, and quit attempts made during the intervention period. The long-term goal is to effectively utilize family- based and outreach strategies that involve multiple individual, familial, and social levels to reduce smoking in hard-to-reach populations. The public health and economic consequences of cigarette smoking are well established. This project addresses gaps in knowledge about effective strategies for treating tobacco dependence in underrepresented populations where smoking prevalence is disproportionately high such as among Chinese- and Vietnamese-American men. The proposed study will examine the use of an innovative strategy that involves lay health worker outreach to mobilize the families and the smokers to promote smoking cessation in Chinese- and Vietnamese-American men.