The Effectiveness of Self-Help Group (SHG) Intervention on Smoking Prevention of Adolescents in Aceh, Indonesia: A Controlled Field Trail.

OBJECTIVE: This study aims to examine the effectiveness of the Self-Help Group (SHG) intervention in smoking prevention among adolescents. METHODS: This study was carried out in 2 Junior High Schools in Aceh Besar using a quasi-experimental method, which was conducted in the intervention and the control groups with a pre-post design. The number of samples was determined based on power analysis with medium effect size and power (0.08) with 40 respondents per group. After randomizing the schools, a total of 40 students who met the criteria were randomly selected for each school. The data were collected by using a self-report questionnaire, consisting of knowledge, as well as smoking attitudes, intentions, and behavior. The SHG intervention consist of 6 sessions, each of which was conducted per week with a duration of 40-60 minutes per session. The data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. RESULTS: The results of statistical tests using the Mann-Whitney and t-test showed that there was an effect of the SHG intervention on knowledge (p-value 0.043), attitude (p-value 0.001), intention (p-value 0.029), and behavior (p-value 0.003). The average score of knowledge was higher in the SHG intervention group than in the control group, while the average score of attitude, smoking intention and behavior was lower in the SHG intervention group than in the control group. CONCLUSION: Health practitioners, specifically community nurses are suggested to implement SHG interventions as one of the strategies for preventing smoking among adolescents.

Effectiveness of a Social Marketing Mix Intervention on Changing the Smoking Behavior of Santri in Traditional Islamic Boarding Schools in Indonesia.

OBJECTIVES: This study investigated the effectiveness of the social marketing mix approach in increasing students' knowledge about smoking, promoting positive attitudes toward smoking cessation, and decreasing smoking behavior. METHODS: This quantitative research study incorporated a quasi-experimental method with a pretest-posttest non-equivalent group design. Using the purposive sampling technique, 152 smoking students were selected as participants. They were divided into 2 equal groups, with 76 students in the control group and 76 in the intervention group. The data were collected using questionnaires and analyzed with the chi-square test, independent t-test, Wilcoxon signed-rank test, and Mann-Whitney U-test. RESULTS: The social marketing mix intervention was effective in increasing the students' knowledge about smoking (p<0.001), improving their attitude toward smoking cessation (p<0.001), and reducing their smoking behavior (p=0.014). CONCLUSIONS: This approach should be implemented by local governments to reduce smoking behavior in the community, especially among teenagers, in addition to instituting a smoking ban and applying fines.

Indonesian adolescents' perspectives on smoking habits: a qualitative study.

BACKGROUND: The prevalence of smoking among adolescents is high in Indonesia. Therefore, this qualitative research aimed to explore the perspectives of Muslim adolescents on smoking habits as a reference for developing effective prevention programs. METHODS: Three focus group discussions involving 24 junior high school male students (mean age = 13.75 years) were the main source of data for this phenomenological qualitative study. The discussion guide was developed by the researchers based on the reviewed literature and validated by experts. The research findings were analyzed using an inductive content analysis with systematic steps based on the stages of qualitative data analysis. RESULTS: Adolescent perspectives on smoking were grouped into two themes: perception of smoking and smoking-related factors. The perception of smoking encompassed three sub-themes: smoking as a social habit, contradictive feelings, and the Islamic perspective. The smoking-related factors included peer pressure, the parents' smoking status, masculinity and curiosity. The results indicated that adolescents consider smoking as a social habit but with contradictory feelings. The smoking habit was also stimulated by peer pressure, imitating parents who smoke, feeling masculine and curiosity. CONCLUSION: We suggest that health professionals who are interested in developing smoking prevention programs in Indonesia should consider the adolescent perspective on smoking so that the prevention program will be more effective and appropriate for adolescents.