Communication intervention to improve perceived threat of smoking-related COVID-19 and intentions to quit smoking during the COVID-19 pandemic in Thailand

INTRODUCTION: Smokers are more likely to be at risk of developing severe COVID-19. This study aimed to develop and evaluate the effect of a communication intervention for enhancing perceived threat of coronavirus 19 (COVID-19) infection associated with smoking and examine intentions to quit smoking among smokers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Thailand. METHODS: This study was of experimental design. The sample was 427 eligible smokers who were living in Kosumphi Nakhon district. They were either assigned to the intervention group (233) or control group (194). The intervention group received the communication intervention, developed based on the Health Belief Model (HBM), including education online, motivation via social networks, and communication through local mass media. The difference in mean scores between the two groups was examined using an independent t-test. Regression models were fitted to explore the factors associated with the improvement score of intention to quit smoking. RESULTS: The participants in the intervention group who received the communication intervention had a significantly higher mean score of perceived threats of smoking-induced COVID-19 (effect size=0.518, p<0.001) and had a significantly higher mean score of intentions to quit smoking (effect size=0.717, p<0.001) than in the control group. However, the number of e-cigarettes smoked per day between-groups was not significantly different (p=0.532). In the regression analysis, factors that significantly associated with the improvement score of intentions to quit smoking, included female gender (p=0.002), addicted to nicotine score (p<0.001), intervention group (p=0.010), and the improvement score of perceived threats (p=0.026). CONCLUSIONS: This community-based communication intervention could enhance the perceived threats of smoking-induced COVID-19 and increased the intentions to quit smoking among the smokers. However, further research to track the success rate of smoking cessation is still needed.