UW-CTRI has recently completed 4 studies, with data under analysis for dissemination.
- Treating Nicotine Addiction in Caregivers of Children at American Family Children’s Hospital. The study team made nicotine-replacement medications and coaching available to parents who smoked during their children’s hospital stay. The very acute goal was to keep parents at the bedside to support their children, limit or eliminate leaving bedside to smoke outside, and thereby reduce third-hand smoke exposure for child inpatients and their care team. To date, there was limited evidence on how to effectively intervene with caregivers who smoke during a child’s hospitalization. The study team offered this support to parents at American Family Children’s Hospital, treating up to 50 adults while supplies lasted. Following consent, participants completed a pre-intervention survey on a study tablet using well-established, validated smoking-assessment questions. Participants received $20 for completing the initial survey. They got another $20 for completing a second survey at discharge. The study team followed up with parents via phone two weeks later to encourage a smoke-free policy in their cars and homes, to offer support for quitting smoking, and to answer final survey questions for an additional $20. The hope was that families felt like UW supports them and cares enough to check in on how they’re doing. October 2023-September 2024, $15,871. Funded by the University of Wisconsin Department of Pediatrics Faculty R&D Grant. Dr. Brian Williams, PI.
- VA Merit Grant. US Department of Veterans Affairs awarded a grant to UW-CTRI Researcher Dr. Jessica Cook and the William S. Middleton Memorial Veterans Hospital (VA) in Madison for the first ever to evaluate a chronic care system designed to help Veterans who are both ready and not ready to quit smoking. Many Veterans became addicted to tobacco during their military service. The team implemented the grant at the VA, offered telemedicine visits for all Veterans who smoked, including rural Veterans who couldn’t afford to drive into Madison for visits. It was a way to give back to Veterans who have sacrificed so much for their country. The Enhanced Chronic Care system provided ongoing motivational interventions and interpersonal support to Veterans who used tobacco but were not ready to quit. Researchers encouraged Veterans to use evidence-based tobacco treatment and to ultimately quit smoking. Cook worked with UW-CTRI colleagues Elana Brubaker and Kirsten Webster to recruit 250 Veterans who smoke to receive the Enhanced Chronic Care intervention, and another 250 to receive the Standard Care (brief advice to quit once per year). The researchers identified an effective smoking treatment strategy for VA clinical practice. January 2019-December 2023, $1 million. Funded by the VA. Dr. Jess Cook, PI.
- Improving Quitline Support Study (IQS). This project evaluated promising strategies to enhance quit-smoking success among low-income people who smoke. Researchers enrolled approximately 1,400 Medicaid-eligible or uninsured people who continued smoking four months after engaging in standard services from the Wisconsin Tobacco Quit Line. They were invited to participate in an experiment to evaluate the value of augmenting standard Quit Line treatment with more intensive counseling, more intensive nicotine replacement, NCI’s SmokefreeTXT text support program, and/or financial incentives for using Quit Line and SmokefreeTXT support. Analyses will examine the main and interactive effects of these four treatment components at 26 weeks, as well as other quit-smoking outcomes in this at-risk population. August 2017-July 2023, $3 million. Funded by the National Cancer Institute of the National Institutes of Health. Drs. Danielle McCarthy and Michael Fiore, PIs.
- Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center (ADRC) Developmental Grant. This project aimed to develop a tailored intervention for African Americans age 50 and older to motivate them to quit smoking. African Americans are disproportionately more likely than white adults to develop dementia and suffer health effects of smoking. For this project, UW-CTRI Researcher Dr. Adrienne Johnson collaborated with Lorraine Lathen, Director of the Wisconsin African American Tobacco Prevention Network. April 2021-March 2023, $150,000. Funded by the Wisconsin Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center with funds from the National Institute on Aging of the National Institutes of Health. Dr. Adrienne Johnson, PI.