Abstract
Despite a steady decline in smoking rates in recent decades, individuals with mental illness continue to smoke at disproportionately higher rates than the general population. Adults with mental illness are motivated to quit and quit with rates similar to the general population when evidence-based cessation interventions are used. To build an evidence base for a wellness and cessation curriculum aimed at individuals with mental illness, the Breathe Easy Live Well (BELW) program was pilot tested in two group homes in North Carolina in the spring of 2014. Evaluators conducted pre- and post-implementation site visits and interviews with program instructors to assess outcomes as well as barriers and facilitators to implementation. Qualitative analysis of the data indicated that implementation was successful in both group homes, and the following themes emerged: (1) Training and technical assistance provided throughout implementation was sufficient; (2) Instructors used prior professional experiences and goal setting to facilitate program success and participant engagement; (3) Fostering positive coping strategies contributed to reports of reduced smoking; (4) Curriculum length may be a barrier to recruitment. Additional results included an increased interest among group home residents in more diligently managing mental illness symptoms and one group home moving the designated smoking area out of the direct path of the entrance/exit. Results of this pilot project suggest that BELW could be a potentially useful tool for group home staff to address health and wellness along with smoking cessation among individuals with mental illness.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
References
Brownson, R. C., Haire-Joshu, D., & Luke, D. A. (2006). Shaping the context of health: A review of environmental and policy approaches in the prevention of chronic diseases. Annual Review of Public Health, 27, 341–370.
Campion, J., Checinski, K., Nurse, J., & McNeill, A. (2008). Smoking by people with mental illness and benefits of smoke-free mental health services. Advances in Psychiatric Treatment, 14(3), 217–228.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2013). Vital signs: Current smoking among adults aged ≥18 years with mental illness—United States, 2009–2011. MMWR, 62, 81–87.
El-Guebaly, N., Cathcart, J., Currie, S., Brown, D., & Gloster, S. (2002). Smoking cessation approaches for persons with mental illness or addictive disorders. Psychiatric Services (Washington, DC), 53(9), 1166–1170.
Fagerstrom, K., & Aubin, H. J. (2009). Management of smoking cessation in patients with psychiatric disorders. Current Medical Research and Opinion, 25(2), 511–518.
Hitsman, B., Moss, T. G., Montoya, I. D., & George, T. P. (2009). Treatment of tobacco dependence in mental health and addictive disorders. Canadian Journal of Psychiatry. Revue Canadienne de Psychiatrie, 54(6), 368–378.
Inspection and Licensing of Facilities. (1999). N.C. Gen. Stat. § 131D-4.4.
Johnson, J. L., Malchy, L. A., Ratner, P. A., et al. (2009). Community mental healthcare providers’ attitudes and practices related to smoking cessation interventions for people living with severe mental illness. Patient Education and Counseling, 77(2), 289–295.
Lasser, K., Boyd, J. W., Woolhandler, S., Himmelstein, D. U., McCormick, D., & Bor, D. H. (2000). Smoking and mental illness, a population-based prevalence study. JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association, 284(20), 2606–2610.
Lee, J. G., Ranney, L. M., Goldstein, A. O., McCullough, A., Fulton-Smith, S. M., & Collins, N. O. (2011). Successful implementation of a wellness and tobacco cessation curriculum in psychosocial rehabilitation clubhouses. BMC Public Health, 11, 702.
Morris, C. D., Waxmonsky, J. A., May, M. G., & Giese, A. A. (2009). What do persons with mental illnesses need to quit smoking? Mental health consumer and provider perspectives. Psychiatric Rehabilitation Journal, 32(4), 276–284.
Prochaska, J. J. (2011). Smoking and mental illness—Breaking the link. New England Journal of Medicine, 365(3), 196–198.
Siru, R., Hulse, G. K., & Tait, R. J. (2009). Assessing motivation to quit smoking in people with mental illness: A review. Addiction (Abingdon, England), 104(5), 719–733.
Williams, J. M. (2008). Eliminating tobacco use in mental health facilities: Patients’ rights, public health, and policy issues. JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association, 299(5), 571–573.
Williams, J., Ziedonis, D., Speelman, N., Vreeland, B., Zechner, M. R., Rahim, R., & O’Hea, E. L. (2005). Learning about healthy living: Tobacco and you. New Brunswick, NJ: UMDNJ.
Ziedonis, D., Hitsman, B., Beckham, J. C., et al. (2008). Tobacco use and cessation in psychiatric disorders: National Institute of Mental Health report. Nicotine & Tobacco Research: Official Journal of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco, 10(12), 1691–1715.
Ziedonis, D., Williams, J. M., & Smelson, D. (2003). Serious mental illness and tobacco addiction: A model program to address this common but neglected issue. The American Journal of the Medical Sciences, 326(4), 223–230.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Baker, H.M., Ranney, L.M. & Goldstein, A.O. Pilot Implementation of a Wellness and Tobacco Cessation Curriculum in North Carolina Group Homes. Community Ment Health J 52, 433–438 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10597-015-9975-0
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10597-015-9975-0