Training general practitioners in the ABC versus 5As method of delivering stop-smoking advice: a pragmatic, two-arm cluster randomised controlled trial.

This study assessed the effectiveness of a 3.5-h training session for general practitioners (GPs) in providing brief stop-smoking advice and compared two methods of giving advice - ABC versus 5As - on the rates of delivery of such advice and of recommendations of evidence-based smoking cessation treatment during routine consultations. A pragmatic, two-arm cluster randomised controlled trial was carried out including a pre-/post-design for the analyses of the primary outcome in 52 GP practices in Germany. Practices were randomised (1:1) to receive a 3.5-h training session (ABC or 5As). In total, 1937 tobacco-smoking patients, who consulted trained GPs in these practices in the 6 weeks prior to or following the training, were included. The primary outcome was patient-reported rates of GP-delivered stop-smoking advice prior to and following the training, irrespective of the training method. Secondary outcomes were patient-reported receipt of recommendation/prescription of behavioural therapy, pharmacotherapy or combination therapy for smoking cessation, and the effectiveness of ABC versus 5As regarding all outcomes. GP-delivered stop-smoking advice increased from 13.1% (n=136 out of 1039) to 33.1% (n=297 out of 898) following the training (adjusted odds ratio (aOR) 3.25, 95% CI 2.34-4.51). Recommendation/prescription rates of evidence-based treatments were low (<2%) pre-training, but had all increased after training ( e.g. behavioural support: aOR 7.15, 95% CI 4.02-12.74). Delivery of stop-smoking advice increased non-significantly (p=0.08) stronger in the ABC versus 5As group (aOR 1.71, 95% CI 0.94-3.12). A single training session in stop-smoking advice was associated with a three-fold increase in rates of advice giving and a seven-fold increase in offer of support. The ABC method may lead to higher rates of GP-delivered advice during routine consultations.
Competing Interests: Conflict of interest: S. Kastaun has nothing to disclose. Conflict of interest: V. Leve has nothing to disclose. Conflict of interest: J. Hildebrandt has nothing to disclose. Conflict of interest: C. Funke has nothing to disclose. Conflict of interest: S. Klosterhalfen has nothing to disclose. Conflict of interest: D. Lubisch has nothing to disclose. Conflict of interest: O. Reddemann has nothing to disclose. Conflict of interest: H. McRobbie reports honoraria for speaking at smoking cessation meetings and attending advisory board meetings from Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson outside the submitted work. Conflict of interest: T. Raupach reports personal fees from Pfizer, Novartis, GlaxoSmithKline, AstraZeneca and Roche as a speaker in activities related to continuing medical education, and grants from Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson, outside the submitted work. Conflict of interest: R. West reports grants and personal fees from Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson and GlaxoSmithKline, and personal fees from acting as an advisor to the UK's National Centre for Smoking Cessation and Training, outside the submitted work. Conflict of interest: S. Wilm has nothing to disclose. Conflict of interest: W. Viechtbauer has nothing to disclose. Conflict of interest: D. Kotz has nothing to disclose.
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