by Anisha Tyagi, MSW Student, UNC at Chapel Hill School of Social Work
The Duke-UNC TTS Training Program benefits from a deep bench of top researchers, clinicians, and educators who publish regularly on advances in tobacco cessation. In this post, we highlight a sampling of articles published by Duke-UNC TTS Training Program faculty and staff in 2022 and 2023.
Published in Public Health in Practice, Volume 6, December 2023, 100427
TTS Program Authors: James Davis, Luisa Masclans
Medicare patients are significantly more likely to face financial barriers to accessing effective smoking cessation medications compared to patients with Medicaid or private insurance. Advocating for improved coverage of smoking cessation medications under Medicare and reducing this disparity is essential to lower rates of smoking abstinence for all patients.
Published in JAMA Network Open, 2023;6(9)
TTS Program Authors: James Davis, Luisa Masclans
Adaptive pharmacotherapy, in which medication regimens are modified based on patient response, was more effective than standard pharmacotherapy in this randomized clinical trial. Tailoring smoking cessation medication regimens to individual patients' needs can lead to improved outcomes.
Published in Implementation Science Communications volume 4; 50 (2023)
TTS Program Authors: Kimberly Shoenbill
Using DEA, a linear programming technique, Cancer Center Cessation Initiative (C3I) programs were assessed, and most were technically inefficient relative to the most efficient center benchmark and may be improved by optimizing the use of inputs (e.g., cost-per-participant) relative to program outcomes (e.g., reach, effectiveness).
Published in Urology, August 13, 2022
TTS Program Authors: Kimberly Shoenbill
An historical narrative of the discovery of the link between smoking and bladder cancer, from initial suspicions to definitive proof, with Surgeon General's Reports serving as evidence.
Published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, 2023 May 20; 41(15): 2756–2766
TTS Program Authors: Kimberly Shoenbill
A cross-sectional study using survey data from 28 Cancer Center Cessation Initiative (C3I) centers found that tobacco treatment program reach may improve when there is a lower staff-to-patient ratio and whole-center program implementation across inpatients and outpatients. Continued innovative efforts are needed to identify strategies to engage patients and to determine which patients would benefit from which tobacco treatment interventions.
Published in Nicotine & Tobacco Research, Volume 25, Issue 2, February 2023, Pages 345–349,
TTS Program Authors: Kimberly Shoenbill
COVID-19’s impact on tobacco cessation treatment for cancer patients was explored in a sequential cross-sectional analysis of data from 34 C31 centers. Due to a rapid transition to telehealth program delivery, centers adapted to challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Published in Telehealth and Medicine Today, Vol. 8 No. 5 (2023)
TTS Program Authors: James Davis, Jennifer Greyber, Jillian Dirkes, Sonia Clark
The Duke-UNC Tobacco Treatment Training Program transitioned from in-person to virtual trainin during the COVID-19 pandemic, and this observational study compared attendance and evaluation at three courses in each format (in-person in 2019 and virtual in 2020). There was higher attendance and wider geographical reach, without a loss in quality, for the virtual format.
Register for an upcoming Duke-UNC TTS Training Program to learn from these and other experts in tobacco treatment, education, and policy. Our next Comprehensive Tobacco Treatment Specialist Training Program begins on March 18, 2024--register soon to get the Early Bird discount!