Hispanic/Latinx individuals' attributions for abstinence and smoking: A content analysis of open-ended responses from a randomized cessation trial.

Introduction: Little is known about facilitators and barriers to smoking cessation among Hispanics seeking treatment. This secondary analysis examined attributions for abstinence or smoking among participants in a nationwide randomized controlled trial testing a self-help smoking cessation intervention among Spanish-speaking Hispanics in the United States (US). Methods: At each follow-up assessment (6, 12, 18, and 24 months), participants (N = 1,417) responded to open-ended items regarding reasons for either abstinence or smoking. A content analysis was conducted using NVivo on the responses from 1,035 participants. Results: Mood Management (e.g., stress and anxiety) was the most frequent reason for smoking across all timepoints. Concern for personal health and wellbeing was the most frequent reason cited for abstinence across all timepoints. Important barriers (e.g., financial stressors, environmental disasters) and facilitators (e.g., family, faith) were also identified. Quantitative subgroup analyses revealed differences in the frequency of abstinence and smoking attributions by sex, marital status, and annual household income. Conclusion: The identified facilitators and barriers to abstinence support and expand findings from previous studies by using a geographically and ethnically diverse sample of treatment seeking, Spanish-preferring smokers. They also provide specific targets for tailoring cessation and relapse prevention interventions designed to improve cessation outcomes and reduce tobacco-related health disparities among Hispanics in the US.

Smoking cessation interventions for Hispanic/Latino(a) adults in the USA: protocol for a systematic review and planned meta-analysis.

INTRODUCTION: Hispanic smokers face multiple cultural and socioeconomic barriers to cessation that lead to prominent health disparities, including a lack of language-appropriate, culturally relevant, evidence-based smoking cessation interventions. This systematic review will examine the literature on smoking cessation interventions for Hispanic adults in the USA to assess (1) the availability of interventions, (2) the methodological quality of the studies evaluating the interventions and (3) the efficacy of the interventions. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: A systematic literature search will be conducted, in English with no date limits, through the following databases starting at year of inception: Medical Allied Health Literature, Embase, American Psychology Association Psychology Articles, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature Complete, ScienceDirect, Health & Medicine Collection and Web of Science Core Collection. Trial registries and grey literature sources will be searched to identify ongoing or unpublished studies. Literature search will be rerun prior to eventual submission of the review to ensure the inclusion of relevant studies. Quantitative studies evaluating the efficacy of a smoking cessation intervention (ie, smoking cessation as a measured outcome) for Hispanic adult smokers in the USA will be included in the systematic review. Two authors will independently identify relevant studies, extract data and conduct quality and risk of bias assessments. Discrepancies in coding will be discussed between the two reviewers and pending disagreements will be resolved by a third reviewer. First, the quality of all studies will be assessed, then randomised controlled trials (RCTs) will be further evaluated for risk of bias using Cochrane's Risk of Bias Tool. All eligible studies will be summarised descriptively. If data allow, the efficacy of smoking cessation interventions tested in RCTs, with a minimum follow-up of 6 months, will be quantitatively estimated using ORs and 95% CIs. The association between intervention type/modality and efficacy will be assessed via subgroup analyses. PROSPERO REGISTRATION NUMBER: CRD42022291068.

Hispanic/Latinx Ethnic Subgroup Differences in Sociodemographic, Sociocultural, and Smoking Characteristics in a Cessation Trial: An Exploratory Study.

INTRODUCTION: Hispanic/Latinx smokers in the United States are often treated as a homogeneous group. However, population-based studies suggest that cigarette use differs among Hispanic/Latinx subgroups by sociodemographic or sociocultural characteristics. This secondary analysis aimed to advance the limited literature by examining differences in smoking-related variables. AIMS AND METHODS: We used baseline data from a randomized controlled trial testing a self-help Spanish-language smoking cessation intervention. Puerto Rican (PR), Mexican, and Cuban, the three largest Hispanic/Latinx subgroups in the sample (N = 1028), were first compared on sociodemographic and sociocultural variables (acculturation and familism). Primary analyses assessed subgroup differences in cigarette use variables (eg, cigarettes per day [CPD], nicotine dependence [Fagerström Test for Nicotine Dependence], and daily smoking) and smoking-related cognitive constructs (motivation to quit, smoking outcome expectancies, and abstinence self-efficacy) controlling for sociodemographic and sociocultural variables. Additional analyses explored differences between men and women within subgroups. RESULTS: Mexicans exhibited the lowest levels of daily smoking (90% vs. 95% Cubans and 96% PR; p = .001), CPD (M = 13.5, SD = 9.5 vs. M = 20.1, SD = 9.9 Cubans and M = 16.7, SD = 10.1 PR; p = .016), and nicotine dependence (M = 4.2, SD = 2.3 vs. M = 6.0, SD = 2.1 Cubans and M = 5.7, SD = 2.2 PR; p < .001), with no differences between PRs and Cubans. Within-subgroup comparisons between men and women showed the most differences among PRs (eg, men were more nicotine dependent [M = 6.0, SD = 1.9] than women [M = 5.4, SD = 2.3; p = .041]) and Cubans (eg, men smoked more CPD [M = 22.2, SD = 12.2] than women [M = 19.3, SD = 12.0; p = .042]), and the fewest among Mexicans. CONCLUSIONS: Findings support heterogeneity within Hispanic/Latinx smokers and highlight the potential utility of examining sociodemographic, sociocultural, and smoking characteristics important for developing salient cessation interventions. IMPLICATIONS: Findings demonstrate that treatment-seeking Hispanic/Latinx smokers in the United States differ in sociodemographic, sociocultural, and smoking-related variables (cigarette use and smoking-related cognitive constructs) by subgroup (ie, PR, Mexican, and Cuban) and within subgroups by sex. These differences suggest that heterogeneity among subgroups should be considered when developing cessation interventions for Hispanics/Latinxs. Future research should examine how differences in sociodemographic and smoking-related variables impact intervention outcomes and explore the role of sociocultural factors (eg, acculturation and familism) as determinants of cessation.

The Effect of Acute Interpersonal Racial Discrimination on Smoking Motivation and Behavior Among Black Smokers: an Experimental Study.

In comparison to White smokers, Black smokers are likely to report both more discrimination and less success in smoking cessation. No previous study has tested the causal relationship between an experience of racial discrimination and smoking variables associated with cessation. The goal of this study was to test the causal influence of interpersonal racial discrimination on smoking motivation (i.e., the urge to smoke cigarettes, cessation self-efficacy, and smoking behavior) using a controlled experimental design. We used a virtual ball-playing game to create a laboratory model of racial discrimination. A 2 × 2 between-subjects factorial design (inclusion/exclusion vs. ingroup/outgroup) was used to randomly assign participants to one of four groups: (1) included/ingroup, (2) included/outgroup, (3) excluded/ingroup (ostracism), and (4) excluded/outgroup (racial discrimination). Sixty-nine Black smokers were recruited from the community. Participants in the excluded conditions reported lower cessation self-efficacy than those in the included conditions. Participants in the outgroup conditions had reduced latency to smoke compared to those in the ingroup conditions. There were no main effects of social inclusion on cravings or latency to smoke and no statistically significant interactions for social inclusion × group membership. This laboratory simulation of racial discrimination shows a causal relationship between exclusion and low cessation self-efficacy, which contributes to a better understanding of influences upon smoking cessation attempts among Black smokers.

Comparing Methods of Recruiting Spanish-Preferring Smokers in the United States: Findings from a Randomized Controlled Trial.

BACKGROUND: There is a pressing need to address the unacceptable disparities and underrepresentation of racial and ethnic minority groups, including Hispanics or Latinxs, in smoking cessation trials. OBJECTIVE: Given the lack of research on recruitment strategies for this population, this study aims to assess effective recruitment methods based on enrollment and cost. METHODS: Recruitment and enrollment data were collected from a nationwide randomized controlled trial (RCT) of a Spanish-language smoking cessation intervention (N=1417). The effectiveness of each recruitment strategy was evaluated by computing the cost per participant (CPP), which is the ratio of direct cost over the number enrolled. More effective strategies yielded lower CPPs. Demographic and smoking-related characteristics of participants recruited via the two most effective strategies were also compared (n=1307). RESULTS: Facebook was the most effective method (CPP=US $74.12), followed by TV advertisements (CPP=US $191.31), whereas public bus interior card advertising was the least effective method (CPP=US $642.50). Participants recruited via Facebook had lower average age (P=.008) and had spent fewer years in the United States (P<.001). Among the participants recruited via Facebook, a greater percentage of individuals had at least a high school education (P<.001) and an annual income above US $10,000 (P<.001). In addition, a greater percentage of individuals were employed (P<.001) and foreign born (P=.003). In terms of subethnicity, among the subjects recruited via Facebook, a lower percentage of individuals were of Mexican origin (P<.001) and a greater percentage of individuals were of Central American (P=.02), South American (P=.01), and Cuban (P<.001) origin. CONCLUSIONS: Facebook was the most effective method for recruiting Hispanic or Latinx smokers in the United States for this RCT. However, using multiple methods was necessary to recruit a more diverse sample of Spanish-preferring Hispanic or Latinx smokers.

Associations between Perceived Racial Discrimination and Tobacco Cessation among Diverse Treatment Seekers.

Objectives: This study investigated a) racial/ethnic differences in past-year discrimination experiences and b) associations between discrimination and smoking abstinence. Design: Prospective, longitudinal analysis of smoking status. Perceived past-year discrimination was assessed at baseline. ANCOVAs and intent-to-treat hierarchical logistic regressions were conducted. Setting: Dual-site (Tampa, FL and Miami, FL) randomized controlled trial testing the effects of a group cessation intervention plus pharmacotherapy. Participants: Treatment-seeking adult smokers (N=347; non-Hispanic White, non-Hispanic African American/Black, or Hispanic). Main Outcome Measures: Biochemically verified 7-day point prevalence abstinence (7-day ppa) was assessed immediately post-intervention and at 6-month follow-up. Results: After controlling for covariates, African Americans/Blacks reported greater perceived discrimination compared with non-Hispanic Whites (P=.02), and Hispanics (P=.06). Non-Hispanic Whites and Hispanics did not differ in perceived racial/ethnic discrimination experiences over the past year. Irrespective of race/ethnicity, past-year perceived discrimination was inversely associated with 7-day ppa, both post-intervention (AOR=.97, CI: .95-.99) and at 6-months (AOR=.98, CI: .96-.99). Among African Americans/Blacks, past-year perceived discrimination was inversely associated with 7-day ppa, both post-intervention (AOR=.95, CI: .92-.97) and at 6-months (AOR=.97, CI: .94-.99). Perceived discrimination was unrelated to 7-day ppa among Hispanics. Among non-Hispanic Whites, past-year perceived discrimination was inversely associated with post-intervention 7-day ppa (AOR=.95, CI: .91-.99), but not 6-months. Conclusions: Perceived racial/ethnic discrimination was greater among African American/Black smokers compared with non-Hispanic Whites. Perceived discrimination was negatively associated with tobacco cessation in the full sample, and for African Americans at 6-months post-intervention. These data have implications for intervention delivery and health disparities.