Incentivizing Pregnant Women to Quit Smoking in the Real World-A Community-based Pilot Intervention.
Thursday, January 5, 2023
Posted by: Natalia Gromov
Yon B, Williams R, Wedin J,
Underhill L, Kurti A.
Incentivizing Pregnant
Women to Quit Smoking in the Real World-A Community-based Pilot Intervention.
[published online ahead of print, 2022 Nov 29]. Health Promot Pract.
2022;15248399221139299. doi:10.1177/15248399221139299
Smoking during pregnancy is a leading preventable cause of poor pregnancy
outcomes. Financial incentives interventions yield quit rates of approximately
30% during pregnancy, versus ~4% in traditional smoking cessation programs.
This pilot study assessed the feasibility of translating an efficacious
University of Vermont research-based intervention into a rural community
setting delivered by the Vermont Department of Health. Pregnant women using
tobacco products were recruited from the Women, Infants and Children program
and Rutland Women's Healthcare. Women were provided in-person tobacco cessation
counseling during regularly scheduled meetings and received gift cards throughout
pregnancy and 3 months postpartum contingent upon biochemically verified
smoking abstinence. Cessation counseling and abstinence monitoring began with
high frequency (three visits per week), tapering through postpartum to biweekly
visits. Gift card values began at $15, increasing by $5 for consecutive
negative samples, to $40 maximum. Participants completed three surveys
(enrollment, 4-6 weeks postpartum, 6-12 months postpartum) assessing smoking
habits, and barriers and facilitators of treatment engagement and success. From
2018 to 2020, we enrolled 20 pregnant women, of whom six self-reported quitting
tobacco at some point during the intervention. At study completion, three
reported sustained abstinence. Results suggest that it is feasible to translate
a research-based smoking cessation program into a community setting. This
article discusses the challenges faced and the lessons learned when
implementing research in a rural community setting, recruiting and retaining
participants, and adapting protocols during the Covid-19 pandemic.
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