“You Come Back to the Same Ole Shit:” A Qualitative Study of Smoking Cessation Barriers among Women Living with HIV: Implications for Intervention Development

Authors

Faith E. Fletcher, University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Public HealthFollow
Damon J. Vidrine, The University of Oklahoma Health Sciences CenterFollow
Meredith K. Buchberg Trejo, Baylor College of MedicineFollow
Yamile' Molina, University of Illinois-Chicago School of Public HealthFollow
Beverly E. Sha, Rush University Medical CenterFollow
Brenikki R. Floyd, University of Illinois-Chicago School of Public HealthFollow
Noreen Sarhene, University of Illinois at ChicagoFollow
Jamesetta Mator, Iowa Department of Public HealthFollow
Alicia K. Matthews, University of Illinois at ChicagoFollow

Keywords

smoking cessation; HIV-positive women; health disparities; formative research

Disciplines

Community Health and Preventive Medicine | Public Health | Women's Health

Abstract

Although tobacco use among women living with HIV (WLWH) is decreasing, the prevalence is more than double that of women in the general population and remains an important health behavior to target among WLWH. Few smoking cessation interventions specifically focus on the unique social and medical needs of women living with HIV (WLWH). Thus, the investigative team engaged WLWH (N=18) in qualitative focus groups to: 1) understand barriers and facilitators to smoking cessation; and 2) inform intervention structure and content priorities. Participants identified salient reasons for smoking and barriers to smoking cessation, which included coping mechanisms for life stressors, HIV-related stress, HIV-related stigma, and social isolation. Further, WLWH highlighted the importance of long-term smoking cessation support, peer support, mental health content, religion/spirituality, and targeted risk messaging in smoking cessation intervention development. Study findings provide concrete, operational strategies for future use in a theory-based smoking cessation intervention, and underscore the importance of formative research to inform smoking cessation interventions for WLWH.

Recommended Citation

Fletcher, Faith E.; Vidrine, Damon J.; Buchberg Trejo, Meredith K.; Molina, Yamile'; Sha, Beverly E.; Floyd, Brenikki R.; Sarhene, Noreen; Mator, Jamesetta; and Matthews, Alicia K. (2018) "“You Come Back to the Same Ole Shit:” A Qualitative Study of Smoking Cessation Barriers among Women Living with HIV: Implications for Intervention Development," Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice: Vol. 12: Iss. 2, Article 7.
Available at: https://digitalscholarship.unlv.edu/jhdrp/vol12/iss2/7