Statistical Analysis of Smoking Cessation Program Data from Indiana Univ., Study Guides, Projects, Research of Probability and Statistics

Download Statistical Analysis of Smoking Cessation Program Data from Indiana Univ. and more Study Guides, Projects, Research Probability and Statistics in PDF only on Docsity! Indiana University of Pennsylvania Department of Mathematics 724-357-2608 Stright Hall, Room 233 Fax: 724-357-7908 210 South Tenth Street Internet: http.J/www.iup.edli/ntath Indiana, Pennsylvania 15705-1072 January 8, 2004 Maria Dietz The Open Door 334 Philadelphia St. Indiana, PA 15701 Dear Maria, Please find enclosed a report prepared by one ofmy MATH 217 Probability and Statistics classes during the Fall 2003 semester. This report consists entirely ofmaterial prepared by the students. I helped to compile the report, and I am certainly willing to discuss it with you to answer questions and determine what we should do next, but I want to clarify that this is really the students' work. I would like to schedule a meeting with you after you have had a chance to look this over. Monday and Friday afternoons are good for me this semester, so perhaps we can get together to discuss what we can do next. Please call me or e-mail me ifyou would like to schedule a meeting. Thank you for the opportunity to share this interesting project with my students! Statistically yours, Thomas H. Short Associate Professor tshort@iup.edu 724-357-4060 The Open Door Smoking Cessation Class Data Statistical Analyses - Part 1 Completed by the Students in MATH 217-008 Indiana University of Pennsylvania T. Short, Instructor Fall 2003 The Open Door of Indiana, Pennsylvania, a non-profit organization whose mission is, "to provide the people of Indiana County unconditional acceptance, education, treatment, and a place of confidential sanctuary when they are addressing issues of substance abuse, addiction, and/or chemical dependency," offers many programs and services. One of these programs is a~smoking cessation program called "Breathing Easier." Held at the Indiana Regional Medical Center, "Breathing Easier" is comprised of five evening sessions held over the course of five weeks. The first two sessions prepare participants for the critical third session, known as "Quit Night." The last two weeks provide support during the transition from smoker to non-smoker. At the conclusion ofeach smoking cessation program, participants have been asked to complete two questionnaires. The first records information about the program participant; the second is an assessment of the smoking cessation program that has just been completed. A non-profit organization must continually strive to fulfill its mission; thus the program coordinators at the Open Door have determined that an analysis of the data from these questionnaires could be used to assess the efficacy of the program. Additionally, the data might support changes or modifications to the program and, further, might help to identify the segment of the region's population who would most likely benefit from this program or other Open Door programs or services. The average profile of a smoking cessation participant is: female (3 out of every 4 participants were femal¥); who is 48 years of age, weighing around 172 pounds and who has attended some college.. The average individual smokes about a pack ofcigarettes a. day, has been smoking at a pack a day level for nearly 20 years but has been a smoker for nearly 30 years. Further, the participant has tried to quit about 3 times - each participant making an attempt to quit one to two times within the last year. Almost every participant tried at least one other smoking cessation method, and reports at least one smoking­ related health problem. The level ofmotivation for kicking the smoking habit was very high. Lastly, participant's evaluations of the "Breathing Easier" program were strongly positive. We did not have access to data on participants following completion of the program with regard to those who have been able to refrain from smoking versus those who relapsed. 1 checked the female choice) rendering the response invalid. Perhaps this question can be reformatted to prevent any confusion. More general questions 1. What number should be recorded when the client answer is missing? 2. What number should be recorded when the client answered "many" rather than a number? 3. What number should be recorded when a client answered two numbers instead of one (i.e. 1-2 years)? 4. What number should be recorded when a given answer is not a number (i.e. "yes" was answered when a number was requested)? 5. Does age factor into the number of quitting attempts? (An older person would have more numerous times to quit). 6. Is gender considered important in this assessment? 7. Was there any follow-up to this class? 8. Were the home and working environments of the smokers considered in the data? 9. Where, when, in what situations, and how often were the smokers lighting up? 10. Why were the attempts at quitting failed? 11. Could the questionnaires be combined onto one sheet per client? This would coordinate the data more completely. 12. What were the causes ofmotivation for quitting? . 13. What types of cigarettes and/or tobacco were used? (Longs, lights, menthol, . regular, smokeless,cigars, pipes,etc.) 14. How much does each individual spend on this habit per week? 15. How old was the individual when they first tried tobacco? 16. Has the client been afraid to quit in the past? 4 Then Cae hae CY Ear wal Lo 7 KA LL OD Y felis Catlet Peok~ Ashu, Lite Cyn bial duda f Bosuk ca Wowttn Qn Orcas Bel some Yove tl iodo. Rew Sbewai Daldosyne Bei rol Aja Rd, yn Let bert Cun Jy | OM) (Ata pe Lhrh.