AIMS To assess the effects of adding motivational interviewing (MI) counseling to nicotine patch for smoking cessation among homeless smokers. DESIGN Two-group randomized controlled trial with 26-week follow-up. PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING 430 homeless smokers from emergency shelters and transitional housing units in Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota, USA. INTERVENTION AND MEASUREMENTS All participants received 8-week treatment of 21mg nicotine patch. In addition, participants in the intervention group received six individual sessions of MI counseling which aimed to increase adherence to nicotine patch and to motivate cessation. Participants in the Standard Care control group received one session of brief advice to quit smoking. Primary outcome was seven-day abstinence from cigarette smoking at 26 weeks as validated by exhaled carbon monoxide and salivary cotinine. FINDINGS Using intention-to-treat analysis, verified seven-day abstinence rate at week 26 for the intervention group was non-significantly higher than for the control group (9.3% vs. 5.6%, p=0.15). Among participants that did not quit smoking, reduction in number of cigarettes from baseline to week 26 was equally high in both study groups (−13.7 ±11.9 for MI vs. −13.5 ±16.2 for Standard Care). CONCLUSIONS Adding motivational interviewing counseling to nicotine patch did not significantly increase smoking rate at 26-week follow-up for homeless smokers.

The 2019 online pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) user survey in the United Kingdom was conducted to assess HIV PrEP access, and user characteristics. One in five respondents continued experiencing difficulties accessing PrEP; users were almost exclusively gay or bisexual men at high risk of HIV. The majority obtained PrEP through health service clinics and rated PrEP positively. High STI rates were reported among users. Renal and sexual health checks are advised for those sourcing PrEP privately.

in emergency shelters; nearly half had been homeless for more than a year. Nearly all the participants were daily smokers who smoked an average of 20 cigarettes/day. Nearly 40% had patient health questionnaire-9 depression scores in the moderate or worse range, and more than 80% screened positive for lifetime history of drug abuse or dependence. Conclusions:This study demonstrates the feasibility of enrolling a diverse sample of homeless smokers into a smoking cessation clinical trial. The uniqueness of the study sample enables investigators to examine the infl uence of nicotine dependence as well as psychiatric and substance abuse comorbidities on smoking cessation outcomes. IntroductionDespite progress in reducing cigarette smoking in the general U . S . population, smoking rates and related morbidity remain strikingly high among poor and underserved groups. One underserved group generally unreached by smoking cessation interventions is the 3 million persons annually experiencing homelessness in the U nited S tates . The cigarette smoking rate Abstract Introduction: Smoking prevalence in homeless populations is strikingly high ( ~ 70%); yet, little is known about effective smoking cessation interventions for this population. We conducted a community-based clinical trial, Power To Quit (PTQ), to assess the effects of motivational interviewing (MI) and nicotine patch (nicotine replacement therapy [NRT ]) on smoking cessation among homeless smokers. This paper describes the smoking characteristics and comorbidities of smokers in the study.Methods: Four hundred and thirty homeless adult smokers were randomized to either the intervention arm (NRT + MI) or the control arm (NRT + Brief Advice). Baseline assessment included demographic information, shelter status, smoking history, motivation to quit smoking, alcohol/other substance abuse, and psychiatric comorbidities.Results: Of the 849 individuals who completed the eligibility survey, 578 (68.1%) were eligible and 430 (74.4% of eligibles) were enrolled. Participants were predominantly Black, male, and had mean age of 44.4 years ( S D = 9.9), and the majority were unemployed (90.5%). Most participants reported sleeping

Background Although smoking prevalence remains strikingly high in homeless populations (~70% and three times the US national average), smoking cessation studies usually exclude homeless persons. Novel evidence-based interventions are needed for this high-risk subpopulation of smokers. Purpose To describe the aims and design of a first-ever smoking cessation clinical trial in the homeless population. The study was a two-group randomized community-based trial that enrolled participants (n = 430) residing across eight homeless shelters and transitional housing units in Minnesota. The study objective was to test the efficacy of motivational interviewing (MI) for enhancing adherence to nicotine replacement therapy (NRT; nicotine patch) and smoking cessation outcomes. Methods Participants were randomized to one of the two groups: active (8 weeks of NRT + 6 sessions of MI) or control (NRT + standard care). Participants attended six in-person assessment sessions and eight retention visits at a location of their choice over 6 months. Nicotine patch in 2-week doses was administered at four visits over the first 8 weeks of the 26-week trial. The primary outcome was cotinine-verified 7-day point-prevalence abstinence at 6 months. Secondary outcomes included adherence to nicotine patch assessed through direct observation and patch counts. Other outcomes included the mediating and/or moderating effects of comorbid psychiatric and substance abuse disorders. Results Lessons learned from the community-based cessation randomized trial for improving recruitment and retention in a mobile and vulnerable population included: (1) the importance of engaging the perspectives of shelter leadership by forming and convening a Community Advisory Board; (2) locating the study at the shelters for more visibility and easier access for participants; (3) minimizing exclusion criteria to allow enrollment of participants with stable psychiatric comorbid conditions; (4) delaying the baseline visit from the eligibility visit by a week to protect against attrition; and (5) regular and persistent calls to remind participants of upcoming appointments using cell phones and shelter-specific channels of communication. Limitations The study’s limitations include generalizability due to the sample drawn from a single Midwestern city in the United States. Since inclusion criteria encompassed willingness to use NRT patch, all participants were motivated and were ready to quit smoking at the time of enrollment in the study. Findings from the self-select group will be generalizable only to those motivated and ready to quit smoking. High incentives may limit the degree to which the intervention is replicable. Conclusions Lessons learned reflect the need to engage communities in the design and implementation of community-based clinical trials with vulnerable populations.

The current project examined the impact of caregiving and caregiving-work conflict on employees' well-being. A sequential explanatory mixed-methods design (QUAN→qual) was utilized, and a total of 880 employees from a large health-care plan employer completed an online survey. Forty-five caregivers who completed the survey also participated in one of the five focus groups held 1 to 2 months later. Employed caregivers were significantly ( p < .05) more likely to indicate poorer physical and mental health than noncaregivers; among caregivers ( n = 370), caregiving-work conflict emerged as the most significant predictor of well-being and fully mediated the empirical relationship between burden and well-being. The focus group findings complemented the quantitative results; many of the challenges employed caregivers experience stem from their ability or inability to effectively balance their employment and caregiving roles. The results suggest the need to focus on caregiving-work conflict when constructing new or translating existing evidence-based caregiver interventions.