title: A novel recruitment message to increase enrollment into a smoking cessation treatment program: preliminary results from a randomized trial.
abstract: Most smokers do not utilize approved interventions for nicotine dependence, reducing the probability of cessation. Smoking cessation programs typically use recruitment messages emphasizing the health threats of smoking. Augmenting this threat message by describing the genetic aspects of nicotine addiction may enhance enrollment into a cessation program. During telephone recruitment, 125 treatment-seeking smokers were randomized to receive by phone either a standard threat message or a threat plus genetic prime message and were offered open-label varenicline and counseling. There was a greater rate of enrollment into the cessation program for the threat plus genetic prime participants (51.7%) versus the threat-only participants (37.7%; p = .03). Smokers who self-identified from racial/ethnic minority groups were less likely to enroll in the cessation program (p = .01) versus smokers who self-identified as Caucasian. These preliminary data suggest that a simple, affordable, and transportable communication approach enhances enrollment of smokers into a smoking cessation program. A larger clinical trial to evaluate a genetic prime message for improving recruitment into smoking cessation programs is warranted.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, 19104, USA. schnoll@mail.med.upenn.edu
authors.forename: Robert A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Schnoll
authors.forename: Joseph
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Cappella
authors.forename: Caryn
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Lerman
authors.forename: Angela
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Pinto
authors.forename: Freda
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Patterson
authors.forename: E Paul
authors.initials: EP
authors.lastname: Wileyto
authors.forename: Cabral
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Bigman
authors.forename: Frank
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Leone
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001552:Benzazepines / Q000627:therapeutic use; D005260:Female; D015438:Health Behavior; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008913:Minority Groups; D018722:Nicotinic Agonists / Q000627:therapeutic use; D018579:Patient Selection; D011810:Quinoxalines / Q000627:therapeutic use; D044469:Racial Groups; D012107:Research Design; D012907:Smoking / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology* / Q000628:therapy*; D016540:Smoking Cessation / Q000379:methods* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D013689:Telephone; D014029:Tobacco Use Disorder / Q000208:ethnology / Q000628:therapy; D000068580:Varenicline
chemical_list: D001552:Benzazepines; D018722:Nicotinic Agonists; D011810:Quinoxalines; D000068580:Varenicline