Odukoya, O., Faseru, B., Uguru, N., Jamda, M., Onigbogi, O., James, O., Leischow, S. and Ayo-Yusuf, O., 2020.
This study evaluated a text messaging intervention designed to increase the knowledge and practices of physicians in Nigeria to help smokers quit. The study targetted all physicians in 3 tertiary care hospitals located in 3 geopolitical zones in Nigeria. They were sent 2-3 text messages weekly over a 13-week period to create awareness and improve cessation practices using the “Ask, Advise and Refer” (AAR) model. Results show that participants were more likely to indicate awareness of the AAR approach after the intervention (60%) than before (21.2%). the study concludes that a brief and low-cost text messaging intervention to physicians increased the awareness and practice of AAR in those who participated in the study. However, the relatively low participation rate highlights the importance of new research to improve and expand text messaging as an intervention among physicians to help them foster tobacco treatment among their patients.
