Culturally Targeted & Individually Tailored Smoking Cessation Study: LGBT Smokers

A Culturally Targeted and Individually Tailored Smoking Cessation Intervention for LGBT Smokers

For the approximately 4.6 million LGBT persons in the U.S., smoking rates among those living in urban areas are roughly twice that of heterosexuals. Targeted interventions have shown great promise in reducing health risk behaviors across a variety of behaviors and population groups by enhancing the relevance of the health information. The primary aim of this study is to test the efficacy of a culturally targeted group-based smoking cessation intervention (vs. a non-targeted intervention) on smoking outcomes among lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) smokers. The investigators anticipate that the culturally targeted intervention will be more effective at helping LGBT smokers to successfully stop smoking than will the non-targeted intervention.

In Phase 1 of this study we used focus groups to establish the cultural appropriateness and acceptability of the targeted elements of the intervention for the LGBT population. For Phase 2 of this study, we seek to enroll 400 participants in a randomized controlled trial of the targeted intervention vs. a non-targeted, comparison condition. Both conditions will consist of group counseling sessions combined with nicotine replacement therapy and peer support. We expect that quit rates, stage of readiness, perceived benefits, self-efficacy, and treatment adherence will be higher among those who received the targeted intervention than those in the non-targeted intervention. Furthermore, we expect that a stronger LGBT cultural identification and salience of that identity will be associated with more satisfaction and adherence to the targeted intervention.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Self identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender
• Age 18-65
• Current cigarette smoker
• Desire to quit smoking (self-report rating of interest in quitting)
• Relatively healthy, with no medical conditions that would adversely interact with study parameters (see exclusion criteria for specific details)
• Agree to attend behavioral counseling sessions, be randomized, and be followed-up
• Agrees to use nicotine patch and has no prior adverse reactions to patch
• Has stable residence and telephone and can provide the name of an outside household collateral family member or close friend for contact and follow-up.