| Sumario: | QUESTION: How effective are smoking cessation interventions delivered by nurses? Data sources: Studies were identified by searching the Cochrane Tobacco Addiction Review Group specialised register (which includes studies identified from Medline, EMBASE/Excerpta Medica. and PsycLIT, and by hand searches of specialist journals, conference proceedings, and bibliographies) using the terms nurse or health visitor. CINAHL was also searched from 1983 using the terms nursing, smoking cessation, and intervention. Study selection: Randomised trials were selected if they evaluated the effectiveness of nurse delivered smoking cessation interventions (defined as provision of advice or other information and strategies to help patients stop smoking) for adults; had >/=2 treatment groups; and had >/=6 months of follow up. Studies were excluded if the sample included pregnant women, if they compared advice alone with advice plus nicotine replacement therapy, or if no outcome data were provided on smoking cessation rates. Data extraction: Data were extracted on study setting and design, sample size, definition of a smoker, description of the intervention and its intensity, outcomes, and biochemical validation. Main outcome was smoking cessation, defined using the strictest available criteria for abstinence (eg, sustained cessation rather than point prevalence). Studies were assessed for quality and rated for efforts to control for selection bias. Main results: 19 studies met the selection criteria; 17 involved patients from hospitals or primary care settings and 18 involved adults with diagnosed health problems. 14 studies reported smoking cessation validated by biochemical analysis of body fluids or expired carbon monoxide. Meta-analsis included 15 studies (n= 7912) and was done on an intention to treat basis. At longest follow up, patients who received advice from a nurse were more likely to stop smoking than those who received usual care (table). Conclusion: Nursing interventions (primarily advice to stop smoking) increase smoking cessation rates among adults. [Original article accession number: 2000029879 (research, systematic review, tables/charts)]
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