Secker-Walker RH, Flynn BS, Solomon LJ, Skelly JM, Dorwaldt AL, Ashikaga T. Helping women quit smoking: results of a community intervention program. Am J Public Health. 2000 Jun;90(6):940-6.
OBJECTIVES: This intervention was implemented to reduce the prevalence of cigarette smoking among women. METHODS: We used community organization approaches to create coalitions and task forces to develop and implement a multicomponent intervention in 2 counties in Vermont and New Hampshire, with a special focus on providing support to help women quit smoking. Evaluation was by pre-intervention and post-intervention random-digit-dialed telephone surveys in the intervention counties and the 2 matched comparison counties. RESULTS: In the intervention counties, compared with the comparison counties, the odds of a woman being a smoker after 4 years of program activities were 0.88 (95% confidence interval = 0.78, 1.00) (P = .02, 1-tailed); women smokers' perceptions of community norms about women smoking were significantly more negative (P = .002, 1-tailed); and the quit rate in the past 5 years was significantly greater (25.4% vs 21.4%; P = .02, 1-tailed). Quit rates were significantly higher in the intervention counties among younger women (aged 18 to 44 years); among women with household annual incomes of $25,000 or less; and among heavier smokers (those who smoked 25 or more cigarettes daily). CONCLUSIONS: In these rural counties, community participation in planning and implementing interventions was accompanied by favorable changes in women's smoking behavior.