Covariates of success in quitting smoking in the community and secondary acute or mental health care services: a rapid systematic review

Introduction Tobacco smokers contacting secondary healthcare services in the United Kingdom (UK) are increasingly being offered support to quit smoking, but there are person and setting-related variables that could moderate their success in quitting smoking. This rapid literature review aims to identify a comprehensive set of variables associated with quitting success. Methods Systematic searches of five electronic databases identified published studies that investigated the success of attempts to quit smoking. Studies eligible for inclusion investigated quitting success in one of three contexts: (a) the general population in the UK; (b) people with a mental health condition; (c) quit attempts initiated within a secondary care setting. Data related to the statistical analysis for all covariates of quitting success were extracted from included papers, then synthesised to identify covariates with a statistically significant (i.e., p-value <0.05) association. Results The review identified 29 relevant studies and 14 data fields, which we grouped into four categories: demographics (age; sex; ethnicity; socio-economic conditions; relationship status, cohabitation and social network), individual health status and healthcare setting (physical health, mental health), tobacco smoking variables (current tobacco consumption, smoking history, nicotine dependence; motivation to quit; quitting history), and intervention characteristics (reduction in amount smoked prior to quitting, the nature of behavioural support, tobacco dependence treatment duration, pharmacological aids). Conclusions Fourteen data fields were identified as having a statistically significant relationship with smoking quit success. These data fields should be considered for inclusion in datasets and statistical analysis plans for evaluating the quitting outcomes of smoking cessation interventions initiated in secondary care contexts in the UK.