Systematic Review of Mentoring to Prevent or Reduce Tobacco Use by Adolescents

Background s conducted 1998 to 2008 (530,849 13- to 15-year-olds, 100 countries) by the World Health Organization and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found increased tobacco use. ives duct a systematic review of mentoring to prevent/reduce youth smoking. ources electronic peer-reviewed databases and gray literature searched through January 2013. Eligibility Criteria, Participants, and Interventions s were included if they were randomized controlled trials, included children or adolescents, employed mentoring (consistent companionship, support, guidance to develop youth competence and character), and reported tobacco use. Appraisal/Synthesis Methods viewers independently assessed abstracts and full-text studies. Disagreements were resolved through consensus. s andomized controlled trials were identified. Two studies focused exclusively on tobacco outcomes; the other 2 reported on both drug and tobacco use reductions. Only 1 study reported that mentoring (by peers) reduced adolescent smoking. Heterogeneity of both participants and outcome measures did not permit meta-analysis. sions and Implications of Key Findings is limited literature on this topic. Further research achieving sample sizes required by power computations, minimizing attrition, and ascertaining mentoring content and achievements from mentor and mentee perspectives is needed.