End-of-treatment smoking cessation among African American female participants in the breathe free™ for women smoking cessation program: Results of a pilot study

Objective: Quitting smoking is particularly imperative for African American women due to their disproportionate rates of smoking-related morbidity and mortality. However, very few smoking cessation interventions have demonstrated successful quit rates for African American women. This study sought to examine the Breathe Free™ for Women (BFFW) smoking cessation lifestyle program among African American female smokers. The primary objective of the pilot project was to examine end-of-treatment quit rates, and the secondary objective sought to obtain feedback from African American female participants on the acceptability of the intervention in this population. Methods: A total of 42 African American females were recruited to participate in 1 of 6 intervention cohorts. Each intervention cohort participated in 9 group sessions presented over a period of 4 weeks. Participants complete an investigator developed survey assessing current smoking status as well as impressions of each intervention session. Results: An end-of-treatment quit rate of 19% was achieved with an average study retention rate of 70%. In addition, participants' feedback indicated that the BFFW intervention offers a highly promising model for enhanced tailoring by incorporating socioculturally relevant methods, materials, and content. Conclusions: Future research must address the critical public health need for socioculturally relevant adaptations of existing and promising smoking cessation programs for African American women.