Effectiveness of Tobacco Cessation Training Program for primary health care physicians of a South Indian district

Abstract

Introduction Tobacco Cessation is one of the least attended components of Tobacco Control strategies worldwide. Although there is a felt need by tobacco users to quit the use and Tobacco Cessation Services can be provided in low-resource healthcare settings, lack of adequate training in tobacco cessation among health care physicians acts as a major deterrent to provide the services. Objective To determine the effectiveness of training medical officers in providing tobacco cessation services. Methods Study design: Cross Sectional Study. Study method: Self-scored questionnaire, selfadministered pre and post one-day training on tobacco cessation. Study area: Dakshina Kannada, Karnataka, India. Sample size: Universal sample of 55 Medical Officers. Study period: 1 month. Results None of the Medical Officers were earlier trained in tobacco cessation services. Among the 55 medical officers, 23 were females. Mean number of years of experience of respondents was 8.2+/-6.99 years. Mean pre-test score for overall ability to provide tobacco cessation services was 46.31+/-9.41 and post-test score was 54.40+/-8.67 which showed a statistically significant difference (t= -7.58; p<0.05). The overall mean of pre and post test scores for ability to counsel the respondents using 5A's were 19.73+/-3.47 and 21.87+/-3.37 respectively which showed a statistically significant difference (t= -5.29; p<0.0005). A moderate positive correlation was observed between the overall pre and post test scores (r=0.62; p<0.01). Conclusions The study revealed that there was a significant improvement in the perceived ability to provide tobacco cessation services after the conduct of the Workshop. Funding District Tobacco Control Cell, Dakshina Kannada, Karnataka, India.