Optimizing telephone counseling for smoking cessation: Six-month effects of varying the number and duration of counseling sessions.

B51 The American Cancer Society conducted this study to evaluate the effectiveness of variations in the number and duration of smoking cessation counseling sessions provided via telephone. A three-by-two experimental design was employed in which 6,322 clients were randomized to receive one of three counseling formats and, within each of those groups, to receive counseling with or without two additional sessions, lasting 15 minutes each, one and two months after the main sessions were concluded. The three counseling formats were (1) the American Cancer Society Quitline standard five session counseling protocol (210 minutes total), (2) three sessions with a total duration equivalent to one-half of the five session protocol (105 minutes total), and (3) five brief sessions with duration of counseling under ten minutes each (50 minutes total). To test the overall counseling effect, a proportion of study participants were randomized to receive self-help booklets only. Six-month follow-up interviews were attempted for all study participants. Results show a significant overall counseling effect. The standard five-session and the five brief with booster protocols were also significantly more effective than the five brief without boosters or the three-session protocols. Overall booster sessions significantly increased quitting rates, but this was due to the effect size for the five-session brief group. These findings suggest that a protocol with more, brief counseling sessions may be as effective as one with three times the duration.