Smoking Cessation Support for Patients With Rheumatologic Diseases Via WhatsApp

The Effect of Supporting Routine Smoking Cessation Interventions With Whatsapp-mediated Motivational Information on Smoking Cessation Success in Active Smokers With Inflammatory Rheumatic Diseases: A Randomized Controlled Study

Smoking cessation support for patients with rheumatologist diseases is an underestimated issue. In the previous prospective cohort study the investigators determined that with the brief cessation interventions 63.5% of smokers with rheumatologic diseases were willing to quit and the rest 36.4% were not willing. Among the willing group the highest quit rate was detected in the group that admitted to smoking cessation clinic. Therefore to increase the willingness to quit as well as to increase the Access to evidence based tobacco cessation support using new comminication technologies can be relevant. Investigators' aim in this study is to examine the effect of including WhatsApp in the routine smoking cessation practices on the quitting success of active smokers with rheumatic diseases who apply to the Rheumatology outpatient clinic.

In this randomized controlled study, the sample will be randomly divided to 2 arms. In one arm, usual care arm, smoker patients with rheumatologist diseases will be implemented brief smoking cessation interventions and referred to quit lines or smoking cessation services and also directly contacted to get an appointment from the cessation clinic. In the other arm, the intervention arm, smoker patients with rheumatologist diseases will be implemented brief tobacco cessation interventions and directly contacted to get an appointment from cessation clinic and will be send periodically motivational and informative text messages regarding tobacco cessation via WhatsApp.

Primary outcome measures will be the quit rate of both arms at 3rd, 6th and 12th month.

Secondary outcomes will be access to evidence based smoking cessation support, admission rate of smoking cessation clinic and treatment use duration of cessation medications.

Inclusion Criteria:

1. Patients applying to the rheumatology outpatient clinic
2. Those aged 18 and over
3. Those who are active smokers
4. Those diagnosed with inflammatory rheumatic disease
5. Those who gave informed written consent to participate in the study

Exclusion Criteria:

1. Those with active psychiatric disease diagnoses such as psychosis, major depression, schizophrenia among their current diagnoses
2. Those with cognitive dysfunction