Poster Presentation 2025 Joint Meeting of the COSA ASM and IPOS Congress

Understanding psychosocial barriers to smoking cessation in head and neck Cancer: A HAPA-based assessment tool (125113)

Anaëlle Preaubert 1 , Agnès Pr Dupret-Bories 2 , Florence Pr Sordes 1 , Patrick Dr Raynal 1
  1. Centre d’études et de recherches en psychopathologie et santé (CERPPS), Université Toulouse 2 Jean Jaurès, Toulouse, France
  2. Department of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery, Oncopole University Cancer Institute, Toulouse, France

Objectives/Purpose
Despite strong clinical recommendations, continued tobacco use is common among individuals newly diagnosed with head and neck cancer (HNC), significantly impairing treatment outcomes and long-term prognosis. To address the need for theory-informed tools in psycho-oncology, we aimed to develop and pilot a self-report instrument grounded in the Health Action Process Approach (HAPA), targeting psychosocial determinants of smoking behavior in this high-risk population.

Sample and Setting
Participants were 108 adult patients receiving care at the Oncopole University Cancer Institute in Toulouse, France. All had recently received an HNC diagnosis and reported current smoking at the time of inclusion.

Procedures
Item development followed established HAPA guidelines and covered key motivational and volitional constructs. Content validation was conducted with multidisciplinary input, including clinicians and patients. Participants completed the new instrument along with complementary psychological measures assessing time orientation, emotional symptoms, and abstinence self-efficacy. Data were collected during standard clinical consultations shortly after diagnosis.

Results
Preliminary analyses indicate strong participant engagement and high acceptability of the scale. Initial psychometric patterns show encouraging internal consistency and support for the theoretical structure. Relationships with external measures align with expected psychological mechanisms involved in smoking behavior change. Further analyses will be presented during the session.

Conclusion and Clinical Implications
This study introduces a novel, theory-driven tool to better capture the motivational and self-regulatory processes underlying smoking persistence after an HNC diagnosis. The instrument shows promise for both research and clinical applications, including tailored behavioral interventions and interdisciplinary treatment planning. Continued validation work is underway to establish predictive validity and long-term utility in psycho-oncology settings.

  1. Schwarzer, R., & Luszczynska, A. (2008). How to overcome health-compromising behaviors: The health action process approach. European Psychologist, 13(2), 141-151.
  2. Lin, H., Lin, H., Zhang, L., Zhang, C., Yang, X., Cao, W., & Chang, C. (2024). Development and psychometric assessment of Health Action Process Approach (HAPA) in terms of smoking cessation among Chinese smokers. Scientific Reports, 14(1), 4056.
  3. Duffy, S. A., Ronis, D. L., Valenstein, M., Lambert, M. T., Fowler, K. E., Gregory, L., ... & Terrell, J. E. (2006). A tailored smoking, alcohol, and depression intervention for head and neck cancer patients. Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers & Prevention, 15(11), 2203-2208.