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Randomized Controlled Trial
. 2008 Oct;98(10):1894-901.
doi: 10.2105/AJPH.2007.128207. Epub 2008 Aug 13.

Smoking cessation intervention for female prisoners: addressing an urgent public health need

Karen Cropsey  1 , Gloria Eldridge, Michael Weaver, Gabriela Villalobos, Maxine Stitzer, Al Best
Affiliations
Randomized Controlled Trial

Smoking cessation intervention for female prisoners: addressing an urgent public health need

Karen Cropsey et al. Am J Public Health. 2008 Oct.

Abstract

Objectives: We tested the efficacy of a combined pharmacologic and behavioral smoking cessation intervention among women in a state prison in the southern United States.

Methods: The study design was a randomized controlled trial with a 6-month waitlist control group. The intervention was a 10-week group intervention combined with nicotine replacement therapy. Two hundred and fifty participants received the intervention, and 289 were in the control group. Assessments occurred at baseline; end of treatment; 3, 6, and 12 months after treatment; and at weekly sessions for participants in the intervention group.

Results: The intervention was efficacious compared with the waitlist control group. Point prevalence quit rates for the intervention group were 18% at end of treatment, 17% at 3-month follow-up, 14% at 6-month follow-up, and 12% at 12-month follow-up, quit rates that are consistent with outcomes from community smoking-cessation interventions.

Conclusions: Female prisoners are interested in smoking cessation interventions and achieved point-prevalence quit rates similar to community samples. Augmenting tobacco control policies in prison with smoking cessation interventions has the potential to address a significant public health need.

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Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
Flow chart of participation in smoking cessation intervention for female prisoners: southeastern United States, June 2004 to June 2006.
FIGURE 2
FIGURE 2
Smoking quit rates with verified abstinence among women (N = 539) in a state prison, by time and treatment group: southeastern United States, June 2004 to June 2006. Note. EOT = end-of-treatment; Med = medication check. From week 4 through 6 months, the P values were less than .001. Baseline through week 3 the P values were not significant. χ analysis was used to calculate P values.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention The Health Consequences of Smoking: A Report of the Surgeon General . Atlanta, GA: Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; 2004. Available at: http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/data_statistics/sgr/sgr_2004/chapters.htm. Accessed April 8, 2008
    1. Cropsey KL, Eldridge GD, Weaver MF, Villalobos GC, Stitzer ML. Expired carbon monoxide levels in self-reported smokers and non-smokers in prison. Nicotine Tob Res 2006;8:653–659 - PubMed
    1. Maruschak LM, Beck AL. Medical Problems of Inmates, 1997 . Washington, DC: US Dept of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics; Document NCJ 181644
    1. Lamb-Mechanick D, Nelson J. Prison Health Care Survey: An Analysis of Factors Influencing Per Capita Costs . Washington, DC: National Institute of Corrections; 2000.
    1. Harrison PM, Beck AJ. Prisoners in 2005 Washington, DC: Bureau of Justice Statistics, US Dept of Justice; 2006Document NCJ 215092

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