Abstract:
This quasi-experimental research aimed to study the effect of the stages of change
and social support applied to a smoking cessation program among 19 Tuberculosis Patients
who tended to smoke at the TB office of the Center of Disease Control at the Ministry of
Public Health. The program was composed of several activities, such as-individual counseling
based on their level of thinking concerning quitting smoking, health education, spiritual
meditation, and concentration. The activities of the program were with social support from a
close friend or family member. The program was conducted over 4 months. The effects of the
program were evaluated by questionnaires, pre- and post- program, and differential analyses
of the mean, regarding the risk perception of disease and harm from smoking. An anlysis of
the following was also conducted-expectations regrading quitting smoking, the difference in
quitting smoking, and the results between people who were able to quit smoking versus those
who were not, according to paired t-test and independent t-test.
The results showed that after TB patients participated in the smoking cessation
program, the posttest means regarding the risk perception of disease and harm from smoking,
self-efficacy expectation to quit smoking, and the expectation of quitting smoking did not
differ with the pre-test means. Nevertheless, 52.7 percent of TB patients succeeded in quitting
smoking. After participation in the smoking cessation program, the means regarding the risk
perception of disease and harm from smoking and the expectation of the effects of quitting
smoking did not differ between could quit and could not quit respectively. (p=0.024)
The results demonstrated that health services for TB patients should integrate the smoking
cessation program in TB service and promote the role of family and community to help TB
patients to quit smoking.