Abstract
Cigarette smoking is associated with a range of cancers and is related to five of seven leading causes of death in Puerto Rico. Minimal self-help interventions have shown promising results in reaching participants and preventing relapse from smoking. Specifically, a collection of eight self-help booklets has demonstrated efficacy (Brandon et al., 2000; 2004). Those booklets have been transcreated into Spanish, with efforts to make them culturally appropriate across a range of Hispanic cultures. We conducted a pilot study in Ponce, Puerto Rico, to evaluate the Spanish version of our smoking relapse-prevention booklets. Qualitative, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 20 current and former smokers. Interviews were conducted to elicit feedback regarding the booklet’s content, cultural appropriateness, dissemination, and perceived availability of smoking cessation resources in Puerto Rico. Interviews were audiotaped and transcribed verbatim. Transcripts were coded using content analysis, with a priori codes based on the interview guide. Emergent themes were examined. Overall, participants liked the booklets’ content, perceived them to be culturally appropriate, easy to read and understand. Regarding dissemination, it was recommended that the booklets be disseminated by physicians and advertised through television. Most importantly, participants reported the best way to distribute and complement the booklets would be through support groups. Participants also reported having limited knowledge about resources provided in the community to aid smoking cessation. Overall, this pilot study was able to show the cultural acceptability of the booklets and highlights the need for the dissemination of these materials among current and former smokers in Puerto Rico.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
CDC (2014) The health consequences of smoking—50 years of progress: a report of the surgeon general. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA. National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Office on Smoking and Health, Washington, D.C. 2014 http://www.surgeongeneral.gov/library/reports/50-years-of-progress/. Accessed May 2014
CDC (2008) Smoking-attributable mortality, years of potential life lost, and productivity losses—United States, 2000–2004. Morb Mortal Weekly Rep 57:1226–1228
Perez-Stable EJ, Ramirez A, Villareal R, Talavera GA, Trapido E, Suarez L, Marti J, McAlister A (2001) Cigarette smoking behavior among US Latino men and women from different countries of origin. Am J Public Health 91:1424–1430
Sonnenfeld N, Schappert SM, Lin SX (2009) Racial and ethnic differences in delivery of tobacco-cessation services. Am J Prev Med 36:21–28
O’Brien K, Cokkinides V, Jemal A, Cardinez CJ, Murray T, Samuels A, Ward E, Thun MJ (2003) Cancer statistics for Hispanics. CA Cancer J Clin 53:208–226
Caraballo RS, Yee SL, Gfroerer J, Mirza SA (2008) Adult tobacco use among racial and ethnic groups living in the United States, 2002–2005. Prev Chronic Dis 5(3):A78
Kaplan RC, Bangdiwala SI, Barnhart JM, Castañeda SF, Gellman MD, Kee DJ, Pérez-Stable EJ, Talavera GA, Youngblood ME, Giachello AL (2014) Smoking among U.S. Hispanic/Latino adults: the Hispanic community health study/study of Latinos. J Prev Med 46(5):496–506
CDC (2010) State specific prevalence of cigarette smoking and smokeless tobacco use among adults, 2009. Morb Mortal Weekly Rep 59(43):1400–1406
Hayes RB, Bravo-Otero E, Kleinman DV, Brown LM, Fraumeni JF, Harty LC, Winn DM (1999) Tobacco and alcohol use and oral cancer in Puerto Rico. Cancer Causes Control 10:27–33
Xie H, Hou L, Shields PG, Winn DM, Gridley G, Bravo-Otero E, Diehl SR, Bowman ED, Brow LM, Hayes RB (2004) Metabolic polymorphisms, smoking and oral cancer in Puerto Rico. Oncol Res 14:315–320
Department of Health of Puerto Rico (2010) Reporte Annual de Estadisticas Vitales en Puerto Rico. Departamento de Salud de Puerto Rico, Secretaria Auxiliar de Planificacion y Desarrrollo; San Juan PR. http://www.salud.gov.pr/Datos/EstadisticasVitales/Pages/default.aspx. Accessed May 2014.
Webb MS, Rodriguez-Esquivel D, Baker EA (2010) Smoking cessation interventions among Hispanics in the United States: a systematic review and mini meta-analysis. Am J Health Promot 25(2):109–18
Woodruff SI, Talavera GA, Elder JP (2002) Evaluation of a culturally appropriate smoking cessation intervention for latinos. Tob Control 11(4):361–7
Wetter D, Mazas C, Daza P, Nguyen L, Fouladi RT, Li Y, Cofta-Woerpel L (2006) Reaching and treating Spanish-speaking smokers through the National Cancer Institute’s Cancer Information Service. A randomized controlled trial. Cancer 109:406–143
Ortiz AP, Diaz-Toro E, Calo WA, Correa-Fernandez V, Cases A, Santosortiz MC, Mazas C, Mejia L, Wetter DW (2008) Characteristics of smokers accessing the Puerto Rico Quitline. P R Health Sci J 27:213–219
Cummins SE, Bailey L, Campbell S, Koon-Kirby C, Zhu SH (2007) Tobacco cessation quitlines in North America: a descriptive study. Tob Control 16:9–15
Brandon TH, Collins BN, Juliano LM, Lazev AB (2000) Preventing relapse among former smokers: a comparison of minimal interventions through telephone and mail. J Consult Clin Psychol 68:103–113
Brandon TH, Meade CD, Herzog TA, Chirikos TN, Webb MS, Cantor AB (2004) Efficacy and cost-effectiveness of a minimal intervention to prevent smoking relapse: dismantling the effects of amount of content versus contact. J Consult Clin Psychol 72:797–808
Simmons VN, Quinn G, Litvin EB, Rojas A, Jimenez J, Castro E, Meade CD, Brandon TH (2011) Transcreation of validated smoking relapse-prevention booklets for use with Hispanic populations. J Health Care Poor Underserved 22:886–893
Zinser MC, Pampel FC, Flores E (2011) Distinct beliefs, attitudes, and experiences of Latino smokers: relevance for cessation interventions. Am J Health Promot 25:1–15
Gobierno de Puerto Rico (2011) Reglamiento sobre la práctica de fumar en determinados lugares públicos y privados. Regrlamento del secretario de salud y del superintendente de policía. http://www.salud.gov.pr/Publicaciones/Anuncios/Documents/Avisos%202011/Aviso-fumar/BORRADORPARAVISTA.pdf http://www.salud.gov.pr/Services/Dejaloya/Pages/NuevaLeyNum40.aspx#Bookmark_prohibe
Marín HA, Díaz-Toro E (2010) The effect of the smoke-free workplace policy in the exposure to secondhand smoke in restaurants, pubs, and discos in San Juan, Puerto Rico. P R Health Sci J 29(3):279–85
Cabrera-Serrano A, Ramos-Colón MV, Rivera-Alvarado A, Cases-Rosario A, Ramos JI (2012) Descriptive profile of people with diabetes who use the Puerto Rico Quitline. Ethn Dis 22:45–50
Litvin EB, Rojas A, Brandon TH, Quinn G, Meade CD, Simmons VN, Jimenez J, Castro E, Diaz Z (2011) Cultural acceptability of a smoking relapse prevention intervention for pregnant women in Puerto Rico: providers’ feedback. Hisp Health Care Int 9:117–126
Curry SJ, Ludman EJ, McClure J (2003) Self-administered treatment for smoking cessation. J Clin Psychol 59:305–319
Fiore M (2008) Tobacco use and dependence guideline panel. Treating tobacco use and dependence: 2008 update. Rockville, MD: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service
Acknowledgments
This study was funded by Grant U56 CA11 8809–03 from the National Cancer Institute’s Minority Institution/Cancer Center Partnership (MI/CCP) Program and R01CA137357S1.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Menzie, N.S., Simmons, V.N., Quinn, G.P. et al. Acceptability and Cultural Appropriateness of Self-Help Booklets for Relapse Prevention in Puerto Rico. J Canc Educ 30, 585–592 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13187-014-0729-4
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13187-014-0729-4