There have been multiple attempts in the U.S. to close the gap in the quality of health care for diverse racial and ethnic subpopulations. In 2010, the Department of Health and Human Services launched the Healthy People 2020 plan. Two of four main goals of the plan are decreasing racial and ethnic health disparities and attaining high-quality lives free of preventable diseases. Because of this and other programs, a number of improvements in health care have been made that should help reduce health disparities in the U.S. Despite these efforts, some racial/ethnic minority groups still have considerably higher mortality rates from cancer and other smoking-caused conditions and diseases than Non-Hispanic (NH) White people. In addition, there are limited research findings regarding public awareness, efficacy and availability of smoking cessation methods for racial/ethnic minorities. The overall goals of the proposed study are to determine the quality of smoking- cessation-related (SCR) health care for diverse racial and ethnic groups, over-time changes in the quality of the SCR health care, and smokers' awareness and attitudes regarding currently available smoking cessation methods and treatments, as well as identify methods that have been used to successfully quit smoking. The primary investigation will focus on assessing potential differences with respect to each of these factors across the largest racial/ethnic U.S. subpopulations (i.e., NH White, NH Black/African American, and Hispanic); the secondary investigation will concern smaller U.S. subpopulations: NH American Indian/Alaska Native, NH Asian, and NH Multiracial. The necessity of differentiating between relatively large and small subpopulations is confirmed by the preliminary research findings. The data from the Tobacco Use Supplement to the Current Population Survey (TUS-CPS) will be used. The TUS-CPS is the key source of data on smoking behaviors among diverse racial/ethnic groups, including small U.S. subpopulations. The proposed research is innovative because it is the first study to assess the feasibility and effectiveness of smoking cessation efforts across diverse racial/ethnic groups using a representative sample of the adult U.S. population and the first to examine longitudinal changes in the quality of the SCR health care services, as well as differences in the SCR health care services offered to diverse racial/ethnic minorities and non-minorities. Results of the proposed study are expected to play a vital role in improving the health care system as a whole, helping to close the gap in the quality of health care services offered to racial/ethnic minorities and non-minorities, and further decreasing rates of smoking-caused conditions and diseases across all subpopulations. The research findings will be beneficial for further refining smoking cessation programs for diverse subpopulations of smokers, increasing awareness of available smoking cessation interventions and medical treatments, and reducing smoking prevalence and rates of smoking-caused diseases and conditions, especially in underserved Americans.

Public Health Relevance

The study will determine the quality of smoking-cessation-related (SCR) health care for diverse racial and ethnic groups, over-time changes in the quality of the SCR health care, and smoker's awareness and attitudes regarding currently available smoking cessation methods (including medical treatments), as well as which methods have been used to successfully quit smoking. Potential discrepancies with respect to each of these factors will be assessed across diverse racial/ethnic U.S. subpopulations. Results of the proposed study are expected to play a vital role in further refining smoking cessation programs for diverse subpopulations of smokers, increasing awareness of available smoking cessation interventions and medical treatments, and reducing the smoking prevalence and rates of smoking-caused diseases and conditions, especially in underserved Americans.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
5R01MD009718-04
Application #
9232911
Study Section
Health Disparities and Equity Promotion Study Section (HDEP)
Program Officer
Alvidrez, Jennifer L
Project Start
2015-07-07
Project End
2019-02-28
Budget Start
2017-03-01
Budget End
2018-02-28
Support Year
4
Fiscal Year
2017
Total Cost
$128,814
Indirect Cost
$30,446
Name
University of Central Florida
Department
Type
Schools of Medicine
DUNS #
150805653
City
Orlando
State
FL
Country
United States
Zip Code
32826
Mai, Yujiao; Leonardo, Selena; Soulakova, Julia N (2018) Smoke-free homes among single-parent families: Differences associated with parental race/ethnicity and smoking behaviors. Prev Med Rep 9:18-23
Soulakova, Julia N; Pack, Richard; Ha, Trung (2018) Patterns and correlates of purchasing cigarettes on Indian reservations among daily smokers in the United States. Drug Alcohol Depend 192:88-93
Soulakova, Julia N; Crockett, Lisa J (2018) Level of Cigarette Consumption and Duration of Smoking Abstinence During Failed Quit Attempts Among Long-Term Daily Smokers: the Role of Race/Ethnicity and Cessation Aids. J Racial Ethn Health Disparities 5:293-303
Ha, Trung; Soulakova, Julia N (2018) Survey Mode and Rates of Smoke-free Homes and Support for Smoking Bans Among Single Parents in the United States in 2010-2011 and 2014-2015. Surv Pract 11:
Soulakova, Julia N; Li, Jinyu; Crockett, Lisa J (2017) Race/ethnicity and intention to quit cigarette smoking. Prev Med Rep 5:160-165
Soulakova, Julia N; Danczak, Ryan R (2017) Impact of Menthol Smoking on Nicotine Dependence for Diverse Racial/Ethnic Groups of Daily Smokers. Healthcare (Basel) 5:
Soulakova, Julia N (2017) Generalized Confidence Intervals Compatible with the Min Test for Simultaneous Comparisons of One Subpopulation to Several Other Subpopulations. Commun Stat Theory Methods 46:9441-9449
Soulakova, Julia N; Crockett, Lisa J (2017) Unassisted Quitting and Smoking Cessation Methods Used in the United States: Analyses of 2010-2011 Tobacco Use Supplement to the Current Population Survey Data. Nicotine Tob Res 20:30-39
Soulakova, Julia N; Huang, Huang; Crockett, Lisa J (2015) Racial/Ethnic Disparities in Consistent Reporting of Smoking-Related Behaviors. J Addict Behav Ther Rehabil 4: