Telephone-Based Counselling as a Smoking Cessation Modality

Background: Smoking cessation is necessary to prevent many noncommunicable disease. This process is difficult and requires support. Ideal methods for such support are still being developed such as telephone counselling. Hopefully, counselling can be conducted more intensively with better efficiency using this novel method. Aim: Review the effectiveness of telephone counselling compared to standard direct counselling for smoking cessation. Method: Systematic literature searching performed using MEDLINE, Science Direct and Cochrane databases. Selected articles were then critically appraised. Result: One meta-analysis of 11 randomized clinical trials shows that telephone counselling is more effective compared standard direct counselling (RR 1,41; 95%CI 1,20–1,66). The measured outcome was smoking cessation with at least six months of follow up since the start of intervention. Conclusion: Based on critical appraisal of article with the highest level of evidence, telephone counselling that is conducted as frequently as three to six sessions can be recommended as part of support therapy for smoking cessation.