Evaluation of the effect of brief clinical interventions on smoking cessation in adult smokers applying to family medicine polyclinic

Smoking is the main cause of preventable death in the world, and more than 8 million people, including 1.3 million infants and children, die each year due to smoking. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of brief clinical interventions, conducted in accordance with the guideline, on smoking cessation in adult smokers applying to the Family Medicine Outpatient Clinic. Among the adult patients over the age of 18 who applied to Çukurhisar Family Health Center, outpatient clinic number 2614021 for various reasons between 11.04.2023 and 01.10.2023, 119 patients (34 female, 85 males, mean age 51.34 ± 13 years) who smoked at least one cigarette per day and agreed to participate in the study were interviewed face to face at the beginning and then 6 times face to face and/or via telephone. In the first meeting, participants were asked to give verbal consent and fill out a ten-question questionnaire prepared by the researcher, which included sociodemographic characteristics, some personal information, and smoking history. In subsequent interviews, interviews were completed with individuals who wanted or did not want to quit smoking, using the appropriate techniques included in the National Smoking Cessation Guide for Primary Care - Turkiye, and the progress in smoking behavior was recorded. Nineteen (16%) of the participants quit smoking after the interviews, while a hundred (84%) did not. Of the participants who continued to smoke, 36 (36%) smoked the same number of cigarettes, while 64 (64%) reduced the amount they smoked. The techniques defined as 'brief clinical interventions' for healthcare professionals who cannot provide detailed and expert level smoking cessation counselling in the "National Smoking Cessation Guide for Primary Care – Turkey" have been highly successful in reducing smoking addiction in adults applying to family medicine outpatient clinics. Keywords: family medicine outpatient clinic, smoking cessation, smoking cessation guide, brief clinical interventions.