Journal of Addiction Research & Therapy
Open Access

Research Article

The Process of Adapting the Evidence-Based Treatment for Tobacco Dependence for Smokers of Lower Socioeconomic Status

¹Joseph L. Mailman School of Public Health of Columbia University, New York, USA

²Sophie Davis School of Biomedical Education, City College of New York, New York, USA

³Center for Addiction Research, Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute, New York, USA

⁴Walnut Street Works, Inc, New York, USA

Corresponding Author:

Christine E Sheffer
Associate Professor, Sophie Davis School of Biomedical Education
City College of New York, Townsend Harris Hall
Suite 400, 160 Convent Ave, NY 10031, New York, USA
Tel: 347-346-0230
E-mail: csheffer@med.cuny.edu

Received date: January 14, 2015; Accepted date: March 13, 2015; Published date: March 20, 2015

Citation: Evans SD, Sheffer CE, Bickel WK, Cottoms N, Olson M, et al. (2015) The Process of Adapting the Evidence-Based Treatment for Tobacco Dependence for Smokers of Lower Socioeconomic Status. J Addict Res Ther 6:219. doi:10.4172/2155-6105.1000219

Copyright: © 2015 Evans SD, et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

Introduction: Tobacco use is the leading cause of preventable death and disease and contributes significantly to socioeconomic health disparities. The prevalence of smoking among individuals of lower socioeconomic status (SES) in the US, many of whom are African American (AA), is three to four times greater than the prevalence of smoking among individuals of higher SES. The disparity in tobacco dependence treatment outcomes between lower and higher SES smokers contributes to tobacco-related health disparities and calls for adapting evidence-based treatment to more fully meet the needs of lower SES smokers.

Aims: We sought to adapt the evidence-based treatment for tobacco dependence using recommended frameworks for adapting evidence-based treatments.

Methods: We systematically applied the recommended steps for adapting evidence-based treatments described by Barrera and Castro and Lau. The steps included information gathering, preliminary adaptation design, preliminary adaptation tests, and adaptation refinement. We also applied the PEN-3 Model for incorporating AA values and experiences into treatment approaches and a community-engaged approach.

Results/Findings: Findings from each step in the process contributed to the results. The final results were incorporated into a revised treatment called the RITCh Study Tobacco Dependence Treatment Manual and Toolkit.

Conclusions: To our knowledge, this is the first adaptation of evidence-based treatment for tobacco dependence that has systematically applied these recommended frameworks. The efficacy of the treatment to reduce treatment outcome disparities is now being examined in a randomized controlled trial in which the revised treatment is being compared with a standard, individualized cognitive-behavioral approach.

Keywords