COMMUNITY STOP-SMOKING CONTESTS IN THE COMMIT TRIAL - RELATIONSHIP OFPARTICIPATION TO COSTS

Background. This study quantifies resources used to conduct 26 communi ty-wide quit-smoking contests, the percentage of smokers that particip ated in these contests, and the statistical associations between resou rce inputs and participation percentages. Methods. Data collected from the 11 COMMIT intervention communities (adult population range 47,490 -185,913) included number of contest participants, contest procedures, and resource inputs. Stepwise regression was used to find the most me aningful association(s) of independent variables with contest particip ation percentage. Results. Contest participation percentages ranged fr om 0.27 to 3.11% of smokers (mean = 1.26%). Total cost (COMMIT and com munity-contributed resources and dollar expenditures) to conduct a con test averaged $24,857 (range $5,751-$74,556), or $78.57 per contest pa rticipant. Expenditures in various specific resource categories varied greatly. Total expenditures per smoker in the community (excluding ex penditures for prizes) was the independent variable most highly correl ated with contest participation percentage, accounting for 63% of the total variability in participation percentages. Conclusions. The perce ntage of smoker participation in community-wide stop-smoking contests appears primarily to be a function of total resource expenditures, reg ardless of the specific types of resources funded. Stop-smoking contes ts are judged to be quite cost effective. Study strengths and weakness es are discussed. (C) 1995 Academic Press, Inc.