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International Journal of Zoology and Applied Biosciences Research Article
Community-delivered group intervention for nicotine dependence reduction among rural adults: Evidence from a quasi-experimental study
Praful Damor, Amit Kumar Kumawat and Abhay Pattan
Year : 2026 | Volume: 11 | Issue: 5 | Pages: 164-168
Received on: 19/05/2026
Revised on: 22/06/2026
Accepted on: 24/07/2026
Published on: 30/09/2026
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Praful Damor, Amit Kumar Kumawat and Abhay Pattan( 2026).
Community-delivered group intervention for nicotine dependence reduction among rural adults: Evidence from a quasi-experimental study
. International Journal of Zoology and Applied Biosciences, 11( 5), 164-168.
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Abstract
Nicotine dependence remains highly prevalent in rural communities, where access to structured cessation programs is often limited. Behavioral interventions delivered in group settings within the community may provide an effective and affordable strategy for reducing tobacco dependence. However, evidence regarding their effectiveness in rural Indian populations is still insufficient. To evaluate the effectiveness of a structured community-based group intervention in reducing nicotine dependence among adults residing in rural areas of Vadodara district, Gujarat. A quasi-experimental one-group pre-test and post-test study was conducted among 450 adult tobacco users selected through purposive sampling. Participants underwent a 12-week structured group intervention consisting of behavioral counseling, peer support, health education, stress management, and relapse prevention techniques. Nicotine dependence was assessed before and after the intervention using the Fagerström Test for Nicotine Dependence (FTND). Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, paired t-test, and chi-square test. At baseline, the majority of participants demonstrated moderate (65.1%) and high (17.8%) nicotine dependence. Following the intervention, the proportion of participants with low dependence increased substantially to 33.8%, while high dependence decreased to 15.6%. The mean FTND score showed a statistically significant reduction from 2.89 ± 1.31 at baseline to 2.23 ± 1.11 after the intervention (p < 0.001). Significant associations were observed between nicotine dependence and selected demographic and tobacco-use characteristics. The structured community-based group intervention was effective in reducing nicotine dependence among rural adults. These findings highlight the potential role of community-level behavioral programs in strengthening tobacco cessation efforts in rural healthcare settings.
Keywords
Nicotine dependence, Tobacco cessation, Community intervention, Rural health, Behavioral counseling.
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© The Author(s) 2026. This article is published by International Journal of Zoology and Applied Biosciences under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (creativecommons.org), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
