The Effectiveness of the 3A-OR Very Brief Tobacco Cessation Intervention in Primary Care: A Multicenter Pragmatic Trial Protocol

Introduction: Türkiye is far from the World Health Organization (WHO)'s target of reducing tobacco use prevalence by 30% by 2025. Most tobacco users consider quitting, and most have attempted to quit at least once. However, the success rate of quitting on one's own is quite low. Studies demonstrating that very brief tobacco cessation interventions delivered by healthcare professionals increase cessation rates have almost entirely been conducted in hospital settings. The aim of this trial is to investigate the effectiveness of implementing the 3A-OR (Ask - Assess - Advise - Offer Assistance - Record) very brief tobacco cessation intervention in routine primary care family medicine practice on the success of tobacco cessation.

Methods/design: This protocol describes a two-arm, multicenter pragmatic trial for adolescent and adult tobacco users. The project will be carried out in family health centers in 21 study sites across the 12 statistical regions of Türkiye. In the intervention arm, volunteer family physicians will implement the 3A-OR very brief tobacco cessation intervention to their patients as part of their routine clinical practice. The intervention consists of the following steps: 'asking patients about their tobacco use status', 'assessing users' motivation to quit', 'advising quitting based on their motivation status', 'offering cessation assistance', and 'recording information regarding patients' tobacco use status and repeating the intervention at each patient contact'. Routine practice in family health centers will constitute the control group. Data will be collected using standard questionnaire forms at baseline and during follow-up interviews at 3, 6, and 12 months. Tobacco cessation rate and increase in smokers' motivation were the primary outcomes of the trial.

Discussion: If the 3A-OR very brief tobacco cessation intervention is found to be effective, the results of this trial will provide evidence that will encourage the widespread use of the intervention in primary care family health centers. The study results are intended to be disseminated through the Family Medicine Academy Association website, conference presentations, and scientific publications.