[Clinical patterns of smokers through the analysis of their narrative in a health area of Galicia].

OBJECTIVE

Language processing techniques such as textual analysis can identify new unknown aspects of smoking not detected by questionnaires in clinical practice. Therefore, the aim of this study is to identify through their use clinical patterns of smoking before and after the intervention.

DESIGN

Observational, prospective, multicentre study of smokers who are ready to quit smoking and who visit a health professional. A textual analysis of the smoker's narrative was carried out.

SETTING

Primary and Specialised Care settings in a health area of Galicia (Santiago-La Coruña) between 2017-2020.

PARTICIPANTS

Patients over the age of 18 years who go to a healthcare professional for a serious quit attempt and who agree to participate in the study.

METHOD: The smokers' narratives collected through a semi-structured interview were analysed using 2 textual analysis techniques (a similarity analysis and a correspondence factor analysis).

RESULTS

The textual corpus of 116 smokers before and after the smoking cessation intervention (221 interviews) was analysed. Smoking is the central theme in the narrative. The baseline interview is dominated by a narrative focused on the pros and cons of quitting smoking. After the intervention, the actions taken by the smoker in the smoking cessation process predominate.

CONCLUSIONS

The analysis of smokers' narratives allows us to identify new aspects that can make smoking cessation treatment more effective.