Video talks at the clinic did not boost quit drive more than phone talks

The study

1. 01

   Who took part

   560 adults in rural Kansas, USA, who smoked at least 5 cigarettes a day. They came through 20 family doctor clinics; 276 had video sessions and 284 had phone sessions.

2. 02

   What they did

   Both groups had four one-to-one sessions with a counsellor in weeks 0, 1, 4 and 8. The talks dealt with mixed feelings and unhelpful thoughts, and came with a quit plan, mailed tips and advice on medicines. One group talked by live video at their clinic, the other by phone.

3. 03

   What happened

   Video sessions made people feel their counsellor backed their own choices more. They did not raise people's drive or confidence to quit more than phone sessions. A year later, about 10 in 100 video smokers had quit, against 12 in 100 phone smokers, which was no clear difference.

What the study found

1. No differenceMotivation

   Talks by video at the clinic did not raise smokers' drive or confidence to quit more than phone talks.

   • Action: Talk through your mixed feelings about changingused
   • Rule: With a coach or therapistused

   Randomised trial of 560 rural adult smokers in Kansas, USA · vs the same counselling by phone · they rated themselves · ⚠ summary claims more than the results show

2. No differenceGoals

   Counselling by video in the clinic helped no more smokers quit after a year than the same counselling by phone.

   • Action: Talk through your mixed feelings about changingused
   • Rule: With a coach or therapistused

   Randomised trial of 560 rural adult smokers in Kansas, USA · vs the same counselling by phone · they rated themselves · ⚠ summary claims more than the results show

Source