The Center for Participatory Research with the Clinical and Transnational Science Center are pleased to announce the 2008 Pilot Research Grant Recipients. The following projects were funded through the School of Medicine Master Settlement fund for the period of January 1- June 30, 2008. Please stay tuned for the 2008-2009 funding opportunity announcement.
The STEP project, (Stop Smoking, Enjoy Pregnancy) is a smoking cessation program designed specifically for pregnant women. This project involves a group-centered, non-pharmacological smoking-cessation program tailored to meet the needs of pregnant women and their partners. The goal of the project is to apply a facilitative approach based on the Centering Pregnancy Model as a format with which to run the cessation groups. The Centering model is based on personal responsibility and active involvement in one’s own prenatal care. We hope to apply the basic principles of Centering to create a supportive, interactive atmosphere in which participants will be motivated to make significant changes in their smoking habits. A unique aspect of this program will be to involve both pregnant women and their partners. The project consists of four group didactic session, as well ongoing telephone contact with each participant. The phone contact will take place weekly during the four-week session as well as in the three months following completion of the program. A final follow-up phone interview will take place at six months post-program. Participants will be asked to complete a questionnaire designed to evaluate their individual level of nicotine addiction. The questionnaire will be completed both at the beginning and at the end of the program as well as during a six-month follow-up contact. We hope to create a program which will be adaptable for use by private and public institutions wishing to offer a viable smoking-cessation program for pregnant women and their partners who smoke.
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Depression is the most serious emerging mental health disorder among American Indians (AIs) with rates of depression in IHS primary care ranging from 8.9% for AI adults in general to 18.8% for off-reservation AI women. Given the national depression prevalence estimates of 5.0-10.0% in the general primary care population, the health disparities particularly for off-reservation AI women are tremendous. Additionally, due to delayed diagnosis and the reduced likelihood of receiving any treatment, minority populations such as AIs suffer a disproportionate disease burden from depression. Disproportionate disease burden for AI women includes a reported high rate of depression-related hospitalization, their substantially higher self-reported unmet need for mental health treatment as compared to women of all other major racial/ethnic groups, and elevated co-occurring health-compromising behaviors such as commercial tobacco and alcohol use that may be used as negative coping strategies.
When depression treatment is received by AI women, it is not likely to be evidence-based or culturally sensitive. Furthermore, AI women have not been included in the numerous national depression treatment studies nor has the vast knowledge that cultural variables affect depression diagnosis, help-seeking, course, treatment, and patient satisfaction with treatment yet been translated into beneficial treatment for depressed AI women. In response to significant gaps in knowledge about depression and depression care for AI women, our formative study proposes to create an off-reservation AI community and academic research infrastructure in the form of a co-Principal Investigator arrangement and a Community Advisory Panel (CAP) to identify culture-specific and personal beliefs/explanations, help-seeking strategies, social resources, coping strategies (positive and negative), and care options related to depression through the use of focus groups with off-reservation AI women in the southeast Albuquerque area.
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Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) people tend to smoke cigarettes at higher rates than heterosexuals, and thus are likely to be disproportionately impacted by tobacco. In New Mexico, LGBTQ people smoke at almost twice the rate of their heterosexual counterparts (39% vs. 21% in 2006). In all states, including New Mexico, comprehensive health data for LGBTQ people are scarce.
The purpose of this study is to explore: 1) Factors that influence smoking rates among LGBTQ persons in Albuquerque; 2) Reasons LGBTQ persons Albuquerque in try to quit or quit smoking; and 3) How to best reach LGBTQ smokers in New Mexico and encourage and support their quit attempts.
All focus groups will be audio recorded and transcribed, without the use of names or other identifying information. Qualitative data analysis will be conducted separately by two research analysts to identify key themes that emerged during the focus group discussions. Preliminary study findings will be presented to participants in the fourth and final focus group session, and participant feedback and comments will be solicited, regarding the appropriateness and validity of the study findings. Feedback from participants in the fourth focus group will be incorporated into the overall study findings.
Final study findings will be presented in a final project summary report and will be disseminated in several ways, including a website where study participants will be directed should they wish to review and/or comment on study findings. Findings from this exploratory study will be used to identify culturally-appropriate and effective interventions and health education messages for use with LGBTQ populations in New Mexico.
