Article Review- A Review of the Evidence onTechnology-Based Interventions for the Treatment of Tobacco Dependence in College Health by Joanne Brown
Joanne Brown’s article is based on the recognition that, college years play a major part in the development of smoking behavior amongst students. This is despite the knowledge of the negative health effects of tobacco use. The author theorizes that, interventions in treating tobacco dependence among young adults are crucial as it enables the reduction of premature morbidity and mortality in a drastic way. In addition, such interventions contribute to the improvement of academic performance amongst college youths.
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Some of the health effects of tobacco use include respiratory complications, coughing and whizzing. Smoking is also associated with cervical cancer amongst females. Statistics from researches show that smoking contributes to almost 30 percent of all cancer deaths and 80 percent of deaths from chronic pulmonary illnesses and cardiovascular problems. Brown concludes that significant numbers of deaths that are related to smoking can be avoided if smoking is stopped before the age of 30 years.
The review established that, technology based interventions for the treatment of tobacco dependence results in positive outcomes in terms of smoking abstinence. The interventions identified include web-based guides for cessation and computer generated advices. Others are computer-generated text messages, and even support from peers through e-mails.The study however pointed that, it is not clear on the types of technology-based interventions that is most effective. This is partly because of the existence of multiple components in the interventions, different number of contacts and differences in interventions.
These study outcomes were informed by a comprehensive literature review on past studies that were published between 1999 and 2011. The researcher considered randomized controlled trials, cohort studies and studies that used quasi-experimental designs. In all the studies considered, the participants were ages between 18 – 30 years who had used tobacco at least in the last 30 days. In total, eight studies were included in the study.
Joanne brown, who is the author of this article, is a doctor of nursing practice in the department of health services, University of Kentucky. Brown is a practitioner and a tobacco treatment specialist. Being a professional in health matters and particularly practicing as a tobacco treatment specialist, the sentiments given by the author in this study can be regarded as being of high integrity and thus applicable as an intervention of treatment of tobacco dependence.
This article is insightful especially in regard ways of conduct study through review of the literature. The research methodology in this study clearly illustrates the necessary considerations and criteria of selection of samples for a review. The lesson that can be learned from this article is that, technology-based interventions for the treatment of tobacco dependence have significant potential and are feasible especially for people aged 18 – 30 years. However, effective treatment can be achieved if affordable, age-considerate and personalized interventions are employed. The reason technology based interventions are gaining popularity is because college health services are increasingly embracing electronic recording and communication through emails in addressing specific health issues.
The information gained in Brown’s article can be used in formulating interventions for the treatment of other types of health problems amongst college youths. The technology-based interventions have the potential of reaching a large population and are cost effective as compared to other traditional methods. In addition, the information on the health effects of tobacco use gained from this article is essential as it indicates related health issues whose intervention can be developed by addressing tobacco dependence problem.
Brown has however not addressed issues to do with the effectiveness of technology –based interventions for tobacco use for the section of the population outside the age limits of 18-30 years. In addition, the article has not addressed the negative effects of technology-based interventions in the treatment of tobacco use among college youths.
Works Cited
Brown, J. “A Review of the Evidence on Technology-Based Interventions for the Treatment of Tobacco Dependence in College Health”. Worldviews on Evidence-Based Nursing, 10:3, (2013) 150–162.
