Tobacco use is the leading cause of preventable morbidity and mortality in the U.S. Although most smokers indicate interest in quitting, only 6% quit each year. Mindfulness-based interventions show promise for improving smoking cessation; however, underlying mechanisms are unclear. Furthermore, there is a dearth of research on mindfulness and smoking cessation in underserved populations (i.e., members of racial/ethnic minority groups and individuals with low socioeconomic status [SES]), who often have greater difficulty quitting smoking and experience profound tobacco-related health disparities. Mobile health technology (mHealth) is revolutionizing healthcare and might be used to elucidate mechanisms underlying mindfulness and enhance mindfulness-based interventions for smoking cessation. Claire Adams, Ph.D., an Assistant Professor of Psychology at the Catholic University of America (CUA), is seeking five years of support through the K23 Mentored Patient-Oriented Research Career Development Award for training and research related to mindfulness, mHealth, advanced statistics, and health disparities research. Dr. Adams' overarching career goals are to inform, develop, evaluate, and disseminate mindfulness- based interventions to promote smoking cessation, prevent cancer and other chronic diseases, and enhance well-being in diverse populations. Through the proposed training plan, Dr. Adams will expand her knowledge and skills with regard to mindfulness, smoking cessation, and health disparities research. In order to fill important gaps in her experience thus far, she will gain specialized training related to mHealth and the advanced statistics necessary for analyzing multi-level and longitudinal data. Dr. Adams will work with her mentoring team (led by Dr. David Wetter and comprising experts in fields of psychology, engineering, public health, and biostatistics) to complete formal coursework, specialized workshops, and directed readings. Primary research aims are to: 1) utilize advanced statistics and mHealth technology to determine mechanisms through which mindfulness influences smoking cessation, and 2) design and test the feasibility of a mHealth-enhanced mindfulness-based intervention for smoking cessation. Toward the first aim, Dr. Adams will learn and apply advanced multilevel modeling techniques to determine mechanisms underlying mindfulness and smoking cessation in three existing datasets that include diverse samples of smokers. Toward the second aim, Dr. Adams will work with her mentoring team to develop and test the feasibility of a mindfulness-based smoking cessation treatment that is supplemented by between-session text messaging. This program aims to deliver personalized intervention to participants in their natural environments and in the moments when they might benefit most. Findings from this feasibility study will inform and provide pilot data for an R01 application of a larger randomized controlled trial. Dr. Adams will conduct the proposed work at CUA, which will provide space, time, equipment, and other resources for research and training. The proposed research will be the first known to use mobile technology to examine mechanisms underlying mindfulness and smoking, as well as the first known study to use text messaging to enhance mindfulness- based smoking cessation. Furthermore, all proposed studies will target racially/ethnically diverse and low-SES populations (who are at disproportionate risk for tobacco-related health disparities and have not typically served as participants in mindfulness research). Research findings could be critical in moving forward the scientific study of mindfulness, improving patient outcomes in smoking cessation interventions, preventing cancer and other chronic diseases, and improving quality of life in diverse and underserved populations. The proposed training and research plan would launch Dr. Adams as an independent clinical scientist who conducts multidisciplinary research to inform, develop, evaluate, and disseminate innovative mindfulness- based interventions to improve health in diverse populations.

Public Health Relevance

Tobacco use is the leading cause of preventable morbidity and mortality in the U.S., and mindfulness-based interventions show promise for improving smoking cessation. However, the mechanisms through which mindfulness impacts smoking are poorly understood. Approaches capitalizing on mobile health technology could be critical for increasing our understanding of mindfulness and improving mindfulness-based interventions to promote smoking cessation, prevent chronic disease, and enhance quality of life in diverse populations.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Center for Complementary & Alternative Medicine (NCCAM)
Type
Mentored Patient-Oriented Research Career Development Award (K23)
Project #
5K23AT008442-04
Application #
9303295
Study Section
Special Emphasis Panel (ZAT1-SM (31))
Program Officer
Reider, Eve
Project Start
2016-06-01
Project End
2019-05-31
Budget Start
2017-06-01
Budget End
2018-05-31
Support Year
4
Fiscal Year
2017
Total Cost
$123,546
Indirect Cost
$9,152
Name
Georgia State University
Department
Type
Schools of Public Health
DUNS #
837322494
City
Atlanta
State
GA
Country
United States
Zip Code
30302
Yang, Bo; Spears, Claire Adams; Popova, Lucy (2018) Psychological distress and responses to comparative risk messages about electronic and combusted cigarettes. Addict Behav :
Spears, Claire Adams; Jones, Dina M; Weaver, Scott R et al. (2018) Motives and perceptions regarding electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) use among adults with mental health conditions. Addict Behav 80:102-109
Spears, Claire Adams; Hedeker, Donald; Li, Liang et al. (2017) Mechanisms underlying mindfulness-based addiction treatment versus cognitive behavioral therapy and usual care for smoking cessation. J Consult Clin Psychol 85:1029-1040
Vinci, Christine; Guo, Lin; Spears, Claire A et al. (2017) Socioeconomic indicators as predictors of smoking cessation among Spanish-Speaking Mexican Americans. Ethn Health :1-13
Spears, Claire Adams; Houchins, Sean C; Bamatter, Wendy P et al. (2017) Perceptions of Mindfulness in a Low-income, Primarily African American Treatment-Seeking Sample. Mindfulness (N Y) 8:1532-1543
Mistretta, Erin G; Glass, Carol R; Spears, Claire A et al. (2017) Collegiate Athletes' Expectations and Experiences with Mindful Sport Performance Enhancement. J Clin Sport Psychol 11:201-221
Vinci, Christine; Spears, Claire A; Peltier, MacKenzie R et al. (2016) Drinking Motives Mediate the Relationship between Facets of Mindfulness and Problematic Alcohol Use. Mindfulness (N Y) 7:754-763
Spears, Claire Adams; Jones, Dina M; Weaver, Scott R et al. (2016) Use of Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems among Adults with Mental Health Conditions, 2015. Int J Environ Res Public Health 14:
Vidrine, Jennifer Irvin; Spears, Claire Adams; Heppner, Whitney L et al. (2016) Efficacy of mindfulness-based addiction treatment (MBAT) for smoking cessation and lapse recovery: A randomized clinical trial. J Consult Clin Psychol 84:824-838
Heppner, Whitney L; Spears, Claire Adams; Correa-Fernández, Virmarie et al. (2016) Dispositional Mindfulness Predicts Enhanced Smoking Cessation and Smoking Lapse Recovery. Ann Behav Med 50:337-47

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