{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,7]],"date-time":"2026-08-07T15:23:26Z","timestamp":1786116206993,"version":"build-2736575974"},"reference-count":23,"publisher":"Maad Rayan Publishing Company","content-domain":{"domain":["ahj.kmu.ac.ir"],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Addict Health"],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,9]]},"abstract":"<jats:p>Background: The prolonged conflict in Syria has increased psychosocial stress and contributed to high smoking rates. Despite healthcare providers\u2019 critical role in smoking cessation, medical curricula lack adequate coverage of related competencies, and high physician smoking rates remain major barriers. This study evaluated the effectiveness and feasibility of the Smoking Cessation Strategy Course (SCSC), an online course aimed at enhancing Syrian healthcare professionals\u2019 knowledge, perceived skills, and attitudes toward smoking cessation. Methods: This single-arm intervention involved a peer-led, asynchronous online course comprising 10 brief lessons (each 10 minutes long) and facilitated WhatsApp discussions. Participants (n=120) included medical, dental, and pharmacy students and graduates. Pre- and post-intervention questionnaires assessed smoking cessation knowledge, perceived skills, and attitudes. Paired t-tests evaluated changes (P&lt;0.05). Finding: Ninety-four participants completed the post-test (78.3% retention). Knowledge improved significantly (pre-test 11.5\u00b11.5 vs. post-test 17.4\u00b11.55; P&lt;0.001, d=0.86) and perceived skills (pre-test 3.53\u00b10.60 vs. post-test 4.14\u00b10.66; P&lt;0.001, d=0.82). Attitudes showed slight, non-significant (pre-test 3.00\u00b10.37 vs. post-test 3.24\u00b10.40; P=0.19). Dropout analysis indicated no demographic differences, though non-completers held more negative baseline attitudes. Conclusion: The SCSC significantly improved knowledge and perceived confidence in delivering smoking cessation interventions, demonstrating feasibility in a low-resource, conflict-affected context. While attitude changes were limited, this online model offers a scalable, low-cost approach to strengthening tobacco treatment capacity in Syria and similar LMIC settings.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.34172\/ahj.1666","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,6]],"date-time":"2026-08-06T08:18:50Z","timestamp":1786004330000},"page":"1666","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.34172\/crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Fighting the Smoking Epidemic in Syria: First Online Course to Equip Health Professionals with Smoking Cessation Competencies"],"prefix":"10.34172","volume":"18","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2684-6042","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Yazan","family":"Kenjrawi","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Dentistry, Tishreen University, Latakia, Syria"},{"name":"Medical Education Master Program, Syrian Virtual University, Damascus, Syria"},{"name":"Health For All Research Group, Tishreen University, Latakia, Syria"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-9995-3204","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Kheder","family":"Kheder","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Health For All Research Group, Tishreen University, Latakia, Syria"},{"name":"Faculty of Medicine, Al Andalus University, Tartus, Syria"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0004-3714-2157","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Nour","family":"Alkurdi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Health For All Research Group, Tishreen University, Latakia, Syria"},{"name":"Faculty of Medicine, Tishreen University, Latakia, Syria"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-3586-0644","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Sulaf","family":"Hamid","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Medical Education Master Program, Syrian Virtual University, Damascus, Syria"},{"name":"Department of Pediatric Dentistry, Faculty of Dentistry, Al-Rasheed Private University, Damascus, Syria"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-8972-538X","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Kenneth D.","family":"Ward","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Population Health, The University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yara","family":"Salameh","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Health For All Research Group, Tishreen University, Latakia, Syria"},{"name":"Department of Clinical Pharmacy, Damascus Hospital, Damascus, Syria"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-9877-3217","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Maysson","family":"Dashash","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Medical Education Master Program, Syrian Virtual University, Damascus, Syria"},{"name":"Department of Pediatric Dentistry, Faculty of Dentistry, Damascus University, Damascus, Syria"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"20123","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,9]]},"reference":[{"key":"R1","unstructured":"Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME). Global Burden of Disease Study 2019 (GBD 2019) Data Resources. Washington, DC: IHME; 2019. Available from: https:\/\/ghdx.healthdata.org\/gbd-2019."},{"key":"R2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1037\/0033-2909.129.2.270"},{"key":"R3","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.drugalcdep.2018.09.025"},{"key":"R4","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1093\/pubmed\/fdz128"},{"key":"R5","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0256829"},{"key":"R6","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.18332\/tid\/144766"},{"key":"R7","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1056\/NEJMp1115176"},{"key":"R8","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.pmedr.2017.02.012"},{"key":"R9","unstructured":"World Health Organization (WHO). Toolkit for Delivering the 5A\u2019s and 5R\u2019s Brief Tobacco Interventions in Primary Care. Geneva: WHO; 2014. 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