OKLAHOMA CITY – Over the past year, researchers at the University of Oklahoma have earned approximately $8 million in National Institutes of Health funding to study multiple smoking cessation approaches, including the use of mobile health technologies. The researchers are part of the TSET Health Promotion Research Center (HPRC), a program of OU Health Stephenson Cancer Center.
From 2001 to 2023, smoking prevalence declined in Oklahoma from 28.6% to 15.8%. However, tobacco use in the state, among both adults and youth, continues to be above the national average.
According to the Oklahoma Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust (TSET), a public grantmaking trust created with funds from lawsuits against tobacco companies:
HPRC addresses smoking cessation through a variety of research projects. With a $3 million grant from the National Cancer Institute, Darla Kendzor, Ph.D., will conduct a clinical trial that tests the effectiveness of the smoking cessation drug varenicline (a pill; brand name Chantix) either by itself or in combination with oral nicotine replacement therapy (lozenges).
“Varenicline is a first-line medication for tobacco cessation treatments. We want to see if we can increase the cessation rates by adding oral nicotine replacement therapy, which can help with breakthrough cravings,” said Kendzor, co-director of HPRC and a professor of family and preventive medicine at the OU College of Medicine.
In addition, some trial participants will use a smartphone app that reminds them to take their medication or use the lozenges. Kendzor said people tend not to use nicotine lozenges as frequently as they should.
“The signature of HPRC is our mobile health work,” she said. “Mobile health provides a way to reach participants. An app that provides education and medication reminders can potentially have a big impact.”
Other research is being led by Michael Businelle, Ph.D., co-director of HPRC and a professor of family and preventive medicine in the OU College of Medicine, and Julia McQuoid, Ph.D., assistant professor of family and preventive medicine. Businelle’s grant focuses on smoking among adults with chronic diseases. In her smoking cessation approach, McQuoid employs empowerment theory, which suggests that when people take part in activities that empower their communities, they may also experience cognitive and behavioral changes that support smoking cessation.
“The fact that our researchers have been successful in earning major NIH grants is a testament to the quality of their efforts to reduce smoking and improve health outcomes,” Businelle said.
About the Project
The research reported in this news release is supported by the National Institutes of Health under award numbers R01CA298165-01, R01MD019957-01 and R34DA060534-01A1.The content of this news release is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.
About the University of Oklahoma
Founded in 1890, the University of Oklahoma is a public research university with campuses in Norman, Oklahoma City and Tulsa. As the state’s flagship university, OU serves the educational, cultural, economic and health care needs of the state, region and nation. In Oklahoma City, OU Health Sciences is one of the nation’s few academic health centers with seven health profession colleges located on the same campus. OU Health Sciences serves approximately 4,000 students in more than 70 undergraduate and graduate degree programs spanning Oklahoma City and Tulsa and is the leading research institution in Oklahoma. For more information about OU Health Sciences, visit www.ouhsc.edu.
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