Equitable Learning Outcomes Among Community Health Workers Following a Modified Smoking Cessation Training: A Pre-Post Intervention Study

Authors: Andres Mauricio Garcia-Sierra, PhD, MD, MPH, MPP, Victoria Nassar-Abuabara, BS, Tianqu Lu, MSc, Cynthia Tang, BS, Anna Veluz-Wilkins, MA, and Marcia Tan, PhD, MPH

This study looked at whether a short, adapted training on helping people quit smoking improved knowledge and skills among community health workers in the United States. About 150 workers took part and were assessed before and after the training. After the session, participants showed clear improvements in their understanding of smoking cessation, their motivation, and their confidence to support clients. Most background factors like age, gender, or experience did not strongly affect how much people improved. Overall, the training worked well for different types of community health workers and helped strengthen their ability to support quitting smoking.