The outcomes of hybrid virtual consultation for a smoking cessation program in Klang Valley, Malaysia
Introduction Smoking has become a leading preventable cause of premature death and morbidity worldwide, with 8 million people dying each year because of tobacco. In Malaysia, a 24-week standard smoking cessation program is available to help smokers. Teleconsultation was introduced into this program...
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| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
European Publishing
2025-04-01
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| Series: | Tobacco Induced Diseases |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.tobaccoinduceddiseases.org/The-outcomes-of-hybrid-virtual-consultation-for-a-smoking-cessation-program-in-Klang,200071,0,2.html |
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| Summary: | Introduction
Smoking has become a leading preventable cause of premature death
and morbidity worldwide, with 8 million people dying each year because of
tobacco. In Malaysia, a 24-week standard smoking cessation program is available
to help smokers. Teleconsultation was introduced into this program during the
COVID-19 pandemic by using internet-based video counseling to reduce the
number of clinic visits. This study aimed to evaluate the outcomes of hybrid
virtual consultation for smoking cessation programs among patients with nicotine
dependence.
Methods
A retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted where all the active
smokers registered in the smoking cessation program from 2018 to 2023 were
recruited. They were grouped into face-to-face interventions and hybrid virtual
consultations. All data were obtained from the smoking cessation program registry.
The primary outcome was point abstinence (PA) at week 7 (1-month post-quit
date), biochemically verified with carbon monoxide (CO) Smokerlyzer for both
face-to-face and hybrid groups.
Results
A total of 156 participants were included in this study, including face-toface
(99 participants) and hybrid virtual consultation (57 participants). The mean
age of face-to-face and hybrid group participants was 51 and 48 years, respectively.
In general, hybrid virtual consultation was more feasible, as evidenced by a lower
defaulter rate and a higher rate of participants graduating at the end of the
program than face-to-face consultation. The effectiveness of smoking cessation
was also higher in hybrid consultation, with a higher abstinence rate at weeks 4
and 7, with percentages of 42.1% and 56.1%, respectively. Additionally, the hybrid
group maintained a high continuous abstinence rate (CAR) from week 7 to 24,
with a percentage of 56.1%.
Conclusions
Hybrid virtual consultation was more effective, as evidenced by higher
smoking cessation at week 7 (1-month post-quit date) and CAR from week 7 to
week 24 compared to the face-to-face group. Telemedicine or teleconsultation
should be easily available for smoking cessation programs, and healthcare
providers should consider incorporating hybrid models into them to fully utilize
the program and improve outcomes. |
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| ISSN: | 1617-9625 |