UW-CTRI
UW Center for Tobacco Research and Intervention

Recent Studies

UW-CTRI has recently completed 2 studies, with data under analysis for dissemination.

Pilot Study of Practice Quitting Smoking and Paced Cigarette Puffing. One goal of this study was to collect pilot data that could be used to improve study procedures. Another goal was to demonstrate the feasibility and safety of remote monitoring of abstinence and paced puffing among adults who smoke daily and agree to practice quitting 4 times, for up to one full day each time. Procedures to be evaluated and improved included:

  1. Assessing participant levels of carbon monoxide (CO) remotely with a personal CO-monitor, smartphone app, and video chat.
  2. Supervising paced puffing and assessing subjective reactions to paced puffing in real time via video chat or phone.
  3. Verifying adherence to paced-puffing instructions not to inhale. This will be done by assessing change in CO from immediately before to immediately after puffing each of a maximum of three cigarettes per paced-puffing session.

Specific aims were:

  1. To assess the success of remote monitoring of abstinence by tracking: participant response rates and practice-quitting adherence rates.
  2. To assess the success of remote monitoring of paced puffing by tracking: the number of paced-puffing trials in which CO increased by 5 or more parts per million and monitoring failure rates (e.g., due to signal loss or other procedural failure). Descriptive data regarding the number of paced puffing trials completed (out of a maximum of three per session), and reasons for discontinuation will be computed as well.
  3. To refine remote monitoring procedures using qualitative feedback from participants about study technology and procedures.

July 2018-Sept 2018, $3000. Funded by the University of Wisconsin. Dr. Danielle McCarthy, PI.

Oncology and Primary Care Pilot Study. For this pilot study, researchers conducted focus groups with smokers as well as interviews with healthcare staff in oncology settings and primary care settings. The overarching goal of the proposed research was to develop a novel intervention to increase engagement in, and access to, evidence-based smoking-cessation treatment within a clinic setting with minimal staff burden. The research provided the necessary foundation to develop a novel intervention known as the Learn, Connect and Quit (LCQ) mobile application. Using focus groups, researchers have been:

  1. Determining the feasibility and acceptability of using mobile technology within the clinic exam room to present treatment-engagement focused content to oncology and primary care patients.
  2. Identifying key content and design features to maximize utilization of the mobile technology and engagement in evidence-based treatment.
  3. Developing pilot content and determining the acceptability and engagement with the content.

April 2017–March 2018, $25,000. Funded by University of Wisconsin Carbone Cancer Center’s (UWCCC), and the National Cancer Institute of the National Institutes of Health. Dr. Megan Piper, PI.

Disseminating and Implementing a Smoking Cessation Program for Pregnant and Postpartum Women. First Breath (FB) is a program administered by the Wisconsin Women’s Health Foundation (WWHF) to help pregnant women quit smoking. While FB is successful helping women quit during pregnancy, it is unable to provide support after a woman delivers. This is very unfortunate because about 85% of women relapse and resume smoking when they return home with their new infant. Recently, UW-CTRI partnered with WWHF on a new program, Striving to Quit (STQ), to address this gap in FB by extending the program to help the new mother stay quit after she returns home with her baby. STQ was conducted as a rigorous research study. Unknown was whether STQ would produce similarly positive outcomes when disseminated and implemented in more real-world contexts. This grant was designed to address these issues:

  1. Evaluate STQ in more real-world settings.
  2. See if STQ produces better outcomes than FB.
  3. Identify barriers to expanding STQ throughout Wisconsin so more pregnant women who smoke can benefit.

WWHF and UW-CTRI have continued their productive partnership for this project. In addition, four key stakeholder groups have been involved throughout the project:

  1. Most importantly, women enrolled in STQ have served in focus groups that will provide candid guidance and feedback regarding smoking cessation education materials, challenges to maintaining smoke-free homes, perceptions of the intervention, unmet needs, and barriers to staying quit.
  2. Discussion groups with current FB Providers have identified key clinical barriers to dissemination. This will be followed by a statewide survey to all FB Providers.
  3. Health Educators who delivered STQ were observed to ensure that the program was delivered as designed. Results of interviews with these Health Educators have been used to develop statewide training materials.
  4. Stakeholders who set state policies and payment structures have formed a “Sustainability Planning Committee” because their decisions are key to securing sustained statewide financial support of STQ.

This project aimed to have a substantial impact on the greatest preventable cause of poor birth outcomes in Wisconsin. Researchers expect the findings to inform public policies regarding the need to embrace smoking-cessation programs that begin during pregnancy and extend them into the postnatal period. October 2016-March 2018. $150,000. Funded by University of Wisconsin Institute for Clinical and Translational Research (UW-ICTR). Dr. Michael Fiore, PI. Lisette Kahlil, WWHF Community Partner Lead.

Research Reports