The effectiveness of health education program by applying self-control technique in smoking reduction and cessation of army conscripts section two at Phanurangsri fort, Rajburi province.
Abstract:
This study was quasi-experimental research of a two-group design. Measurements were done before and
after the experiment as well as during a follow-up period. The aim was to study the effectiveness of a health education
program by applying self-control techniques in smoking reduction and cessation. The samples were 121 army
conscripts who smoked regularly and were willing to participate in the whole process of the research program. The
samples were selected by employing a simple random sampling technique, 66 respondents and 55 respondents were
in the experimental and the comparison groups respectively. The data were collected by using questionnaires and a
smoking behavior recording form developed by the researcher. It was found that, among the sampled army conscripts,
there were 23 respondents and 24 respondents in the experimental group and the comparison group who expressed a
desire to quit smoking. The health education program used was composed of 4 plans: knowledge about smoking
cessation; adverse effects and dangers of smoking; self-control for smoking cessation; and smoking reduction and
cessation behavior. The health education activities were: questioning-answering activities for modifying perception;
viewing video-tapes; group discussion; providing suggestions and persuasion; setting self-care techniques of smoking
cessation; dissemination of a manual for smoking cessation; and the use of smoking cessation behavior recording
form. The experimentation lasted for 6 weeks. The data were analyzed by using descriptive and inferential statistics
including percentage, arithmetic means, standard deviation, and by comparing the means using Paired t-test,
Independent t-test, and an analysis of variance with repeated measures.
The results of the study showed that both the experimental and the comparison groups had similar
sociodemographic characteristics and smoking behavior: their age average was 21 years; they had 3 years of
secondary education; their marital status was single; they had earned their living by being laborers before being
army conscripts; they started smoking at the average age of 16; and 100 percent of them had thought about
quitting smoking. After the experiment and during the follow-up period, it was found that smoking reduction
and cessation behavior of the experimental group was significantly better than before the experiment. It
improved from a low level to a moderate level, (p>.05), but there was no significant change in the mean score
for self-control behavior in the experimental group. In the comparison group, after the experiment the same
moderate mean score concerning smoking reduction and cessation behavior was found and it returned to a low
level during the follow-up period. Regarding the self-control behavior of the experimental group, no significant
change in the mean score was found. The comparison of the smoking reduction and cessation behavior between
the two groups showed that the change among the experimental group was found to be significantly better than
of the comparison group (p<.05). A similar finding was found in regard to the change of self-control behavior
between the two groups (p<.05).
However, there were behavioral changes in the two groups related to a reduction in the amount of
cigarettes smoked but were of the samples were able to quit smoking. This finding may be due to the personal
factors of the samples themselves as well as environmental factors. Therefore, these other related factors should
be further studied and long-term follow-up activities should also be done in order to investigate the
sustainability of the changed behavior.