The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA

Abstract #37863

Carol L. Macnee, PhD¹, Susan McCabe, EdD¹, Jane Woodside, MA², Brandi Davidson¹, and Carla Hensley¹. (1) Family and Community Nursing, East Tennessee State University, P.O. Box 70676, Johnson City, TN 37614-0676, 423-439-4549, macneec@etsu.edu, (2) Center for Appalachian Studies, East Tennessee State University, Box 70556, Johnson City, TN 37614-1707

States in southern Appalachia have high rates of smoking tobacco yet are often economically dependent on tobacco raising and have few policies and programs to promote smoking cessation. The applicability of the Transtheoretical Model (TTM) to southern Appalachians is unknown, complicating efforts to initiate programs to promote change. This paper presents a descriptive study of smoking cessation using the TTM. The random-digit-dialed sample was drawn from a county in Northeast Tennessee based on a total of 3,500 phone numbers. All numbers were called up to eight times. A total of 659 individuals qualified and agreed to be in the study, and 357 returned completed useable questionnaires (54% response rate). Subjects completed established measures from the TTM including stage of smoking, nicotine dependence, smoking temptation, decisional balance, and use of processes of change in smoking cessation. Results for this sample on the measures were similar to those from previous national samples indicating that the model is applicable to this population. However, the distribution of smokers in the stages of cessation differed markedly in this Appalachian sample, with 56% in precontemplation, 30% in contemplation and 14% in preparation for action. This contrasts to the 40%, 40%, 20% ratios that have been found in studies in other areas of the United States. The results suggest that public health programs in southern Appalachia need to focus on moving smokers from the earliest stage of precontemplation, into the contemplation stage in order to begin modifying this major risk factor in this population.

Learning Objectives:

• Describe the characteristics of smokers and quitters in Southern Appalachia.
• Describe the roles of attitudes about smoking, barriers to smoking, temptation to smoke and nicotine dependence on stage of smoking cessation among individuals from Southern Appalachia.

Keywords: Smoking Cessation,

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.