A randomized trial of a self-help smoking cessation intervention in a nonvolunteer female population: Testing the limits of the public health model.

2,786 smokers among 15,004 female members of a health maintenance organization who completed a routine needs assessment were invited into a preventive health behavior study, consisting of 5 telephone interviews over 2 yrs assessing health practices. 1,396 participants were randomized into experimental or control conditions of an unsolicited, mailed, self-help smoking cessation program. Ss were not alerted to the link between the program and the health study. Smoking status was assessed at 1, 6, 12, and 18 mo. Although quit rates were higher than in the general population and were comparable to volunteer samples in self-help smoking cessation trials, there was no differential effect of the targeted intervention on the experimental group compared with the control group. Data indicate that mass mailing of cessation materials is not a useful form of cessation intervention. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)