Behavioral Health Tobacco Dependence Treatment for Kentucky Medicaid Recipients - 75/25 through 3/31/19 charged to 50/50 as of 4/1/19

The Behavioral Health and Wellness Environments for Living and Learning (BH WELL) is housed within the University of Kentucky College of Nursing. Our mission is to promote health and wellness among individuals facing behavioral health challenges. We advance behavioral health nursing research, education, clinical care, and evidence‐based practice programs in healthcare and education settings. Smoking is the leading cause of preventable morbidity and mortality in the United States (U.S.), responsible for increased risks of heart disease, respiratory disease and cancers. Despite steady declines in the smoking use prevalence of the general U.S. population in the past five decades, little change has been observed in some vulnerable subgroups. Specifically, individuals in behavioral health settings (i.e., those with mental illnesses and substance use disorders) have a disproportionate smoking prevalence and related disease burden compared to the general population. Indeed, those in behavioral health settings are two to three times more likely to smoke, have greater nicotine dependence, less success in cessation, and die on average 25 years earlier than the general population. Fortunately, 50‐70% of those in behavioral health settings desire to stop smoking. Current clinical practice guidelines and conventional smoking cessation programs do not adequately address the unique challenges faced by those with behavioral health problems. Working with state psychiatric hospitals, targeted community mental health centers, and key state behavioral health partners (July 2018‐June 2020), we propose to expand our novel tobacco treatment program to target Medicaid providers and disparate populations. Our long‐term plan is to conduct focused tobacco treatment trainings for behavioral health treatment providers, deliver a community based Behavioral Health Quit and Win program, and develop approaches to transition patients who have quit while hospitalized into environments that support no‐smoking to foster tobacco treatment utilization and outcomes with Medicaid recipients.