Tobacco Use Prevention by Integrating inside and outside of School Based Programs: a Systematic Review

Background: Experience of tobacco use in early ages will increase probability of addiction to nicotine therefore, efficient tobacco control programs for teenagers are crucial. This study was conducted to recognize elements of successful integrated inside and outside of school based smoking prevention programs.

Methods: MeSH terms and related keywords were used to search PubMed, Cochrane, Medline, EMBASE, ERIC, SID databases from inception to 29th October 2013. Trials with random and non-random designs, systematic reviews and cohort studies that assessed or reported application of integrated tobacco control programs were included. Quality of the retrieved publications was checked independently by the authors and any disagreement was resolved by consensus.

Result: Among the 745 identified publications, only 15 studies had the inclusion criteria with a considerable methodological heterogeneity. While, precise out-come of integrated out of school/school-based interventions were not percepti-ble but this study’s findings implied that outside of school intervention could strengthen school-based tobacco prevention programs. No study was found to examine school-based interventions integrated with primary health care such as anti-tobacco consultations, high-risk students screening and their referral to special centers.

Conclusion: Integration of outside and inside of school-based programs may boost probability of obtaining favorable outcomes and success rate in practice.