Effectiveness of a Combined CHW and Text Messaging-based Tobacco Intervention in India

Effectiveness of a Combined CHW and Text Messaging-based Tobacco Intervention in India Project MUKTI: A Multi-Unit Kit for Tobacco Intervention

The study is a multi-center 1-year community-based cluster randomized controlled trial to assess the role of a combined community health worker and mobile health intervention in controlling one of the most common cardiovascular risk factors, tobacco use. Participants will include 560 adults, 18-70 years of age, from the urban communities of Dalkhola, West Bengal, and Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh, India. The hypothesis of the study is that this combined approach can result in increased quit rate among tobacco users.

Smoking tobacco is a major contributor to the global cardiovascular disease burden. India bears a huge part of this burden and it is estimated that nearly a quarter million individuals aged >15 years consume tobacco in India. Moreover, about 70% of tobacco deaths are reported to be in the age range of 30-69 years.

Motivational interviewing (MI) is an innovative manner of communication which puts the focus on the patient and strengthens their motivation for behavior change without overt confrontation or persuasion. MI delivered by community health workers (CHW) is part of the strategy planned by the investigators.

In order to deliver personalized assistance and increase penetration of the required intervention into different parts of the country, text messaging is a promising strategy in low and middle-income countries but there is no data regarding its application for tobacco use in India.

The investigators plan to screen 560 individuals between the age of 18 and 70 years for smoking from 16 randomly selected clusters in the economically backward urban towns of Dalkhola (West Bengal) and Jabalpur (Madhya Pradesh). The screening will be done using house to house visits by CHWs who will administer a questionnaire based on the WHO STEPS survey. An individual identified as a chronic tobacco user irrespective of his/her stage of behavior change will be eligible for further participation in the study and assigned to the appropriate intervention arm. Clusters will be randomized to either receive the combined intervention or usual care.

Apart from screening and recruitment, CHWs will be responsible for differentiating individuals between being pre-contemplative vs contemplative. Based on their readiness to quit, participants will receive a structured intervention which involves motivational interviewing delivered by the CHW in their homes and weekly support provided through regular mobile text messages.

The CHWs will be chosen from the study population based on a set of criteria through a formal selection panel after consulting with the local leaders and physicians. They will undergo a week of training for the screening process, an additional week for the intervention and finally a refresher course every 6 months.

The text messages are selected from a pre-determined database of messages and the content of which changes based on the individual's stage of behavior change. The messages are delivered automatically every other day of the week and are controlled by the investigators in Cleveland, Ohio, USA.

The control group, during their screening visit, will be informed of their problems, given a brief pamphlet and encouraged to seek physician help.

The investigators hypothesize that a community health worker based intervention, utilizing motivational interviewing and health education, coupled with text messaging based support will lead to increased quit rates amongst participants who are daily smokers.

At the end of one year, the self-reported abstinence of the participants in the intervention arm will be recorded and biochemically verified with a carbon monoxide breath analyzer test.

Inclusion Criteria:

1. Adults between the ages of 18 and 70 years, who smoke cigarettes or bidis daily
2. Individuals able and willing to give informed consent

Exclusion Criteria:

1. Individuals who are bed-bound because of acute illness or have a chronic condition that makes them bed-bound.
2. Individuals who refuse consent
3. Individuals who do not reside in the community and are only visiting, therefore being unlikely to be available for continuous follow up. Individuals who have stayed less than 6 months in the study area, or whose name is not on the voter list of the area will be excluded.
4. Individuals who are not able to participate in the intervention due to significant disabilities, such as blindness, deafness or the intellectually disabled. This determination is at the discretion of the community health worker.