Abstract
Introduction: Smoking during pregnancy is a major public health issue, contributing to adverse health outcomes. The vast majority of women with substance use disorders smoke during the perinatal period. Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT) is the standard of care for women using opioids during pregnancy. The majority of women engaged in MAT (88%-95%) report smoking. The purposes of this study were to describe: (1) facilitators and barriers to engaging in tobacco treatment among pregnant, opioid dependent women receiving MAT; and (2) strategies to tailor tobacco treatment interventions with this population. Methods: Two semi-structured focus groups lasting approximately 45 minutes each were conducted with 22 women engaged in MAT. Focus groups were recorded, transcribed and analyzed in MAXQDA using content analysis. Results: Participants reported: (1) desire to quit smoking for themselves and their children; (2) aversion to smoking; (3) a turning point in their lives from being pregnant and entering MAT; (4) nicotine dependence; (5) smoking as a way to cope with stress; (6) coping with dual dependencies; (7) past experiences with stopping smoking due to smoking restrictions; (8) perceived lack of success with nicotine replacement therapy or other tobacco treatment medications; and (9) the need for intensive environmental support for quit attempts. Conclusions: Participants were motivated to quit smoking, but faced multiple complex barriers. Integrating tobacco treatment into the psychosocial services offered in conjunction with MAT would allow a healthcare provider to offer tailored tobacco treatment in a supportive environment. Implications: Results of this qualitative study include facilitators and barriers to engaging in tobacco treatment among pregnant, opioid dependent women receiving MAT, as well as strategies to tailor tobacco treatment interventions for this population. In-depth knowledge of the complex barriers facing this patient population can be used to inform tailored tobacco treatment services that can be integrated into clinics providing MAT.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 1727-1732 |
| Number of pages | 6 |
| Journal | Nicotine and Tobacco Research |
| Volume | 18 |
| Issue number | 8 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Aug 1 2016 |
Bibliographical note
Publisher Copyright:© The Author 2016.
Funding
We appreciate the support of Nancy Jennings, BSN, RN and Sarah Bell, Peer Support Specialist, in assisting with the coordination of the focus groups. Further, we would like to acknowledge Dr Ellen Hahn for her mentoring contributions on this project. We also would like to acknowledge use of the CCTS REDCap database for data collection made possible through CTSA grant number (NIH CTSA UL1TR000117). Funding This publication was made possible by Grant Number K12 DA035150 from the Office of Women's Health Research and the National Institute on Drug Abuse at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the American Cancer Society Institutional Research Grant IRB 85-001-25. Its contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of NIH or ACS. The project described was also supported by Funding Opportunity Number CMS-1D1-12-001 from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Center for Medicare & Medicaid Innovation. The contents provided are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of HHS or any of its agencies. The research presented here was conducted by the awardee. Findings might or might not be consistent with or confirmed by the independent evaluation contractor.
| Funders | Funder number |
|---|---|
| Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation | |
| National Institutes of Health (NIH) | |
| National Institute on Drug Abuse | K12DA035150 |
| American Cancer Society | IRB 85-001-25, CMS-1D1-12-001 |
| Office of Research on Women's Health | |
| Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services |
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health
