Tools- of Changes

Effectiveness of culturally tailoring smoking cessation interventions for reducing or quitting combustible tobacco: A systematic review and meta-analyses

Standard approaches to tobacco smoking cessation may not be as effective for certain populations. Therefore, tailoring on cultural factors could improve their effectiveness. This systematic review found that culturally tailoring interventions may help more people quit smoking than non-tailored interventions.

The authors searched MEDLINE, PsychInfo, Embase and Cochrane Central Register from inception to June 2023. They included randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of interventions for smoking cessation in adults who smoked tobacco. They only selected trials that measured smoking abstinence or reduction at least three months following baseline. Further, they assessed risk of bias and certainty of evidence.

This analysis identified 43 studies, 33 of which were meta-analyzed (n = 12 346 participants). It found that intensity-matched culturally tailored cessation interventions increased quit success at 3-month follow-up or longer. In addition, the study found a positive effect of adding a culturally tailored component to a standard intervention. However, the certainty of this second effect was low due to imprecision and substantial statistical heterogeneity.

Culturally tailored smoking cessation interventions may help more people to quit smoking than non-tailored interventions. Adapting or adding cultural components to smoking cessation interventions originally developed for majority populations could improve cessation rates in populations who do not fully identify with majority cultural norms.