Objective: To characterize (1) tobacco cessation content, delivery, and assessment methods, (2) faculty perceptions of content adequacy, and (3) faculty interest in enhancing curricular content as a result of pharmacists' new, expanding role in prescribing tobacco cessation medications.
Methods: One faculty member responsible for teaching tobacco cessation-related content at each college and school of pharmacy was invited to participate in a national, web-based survey. Survey items assessed various aspects of tobacco education and gauged faculty interest in attending a train-the-trainer program and integrating Tobacco Treatment Specialist training as part of the curriculum at their institution.
To address gaps in care for individuals from under-resourced communities disproportionately affected by tobacco use, this pharmacist-led demonstration project evaluated the feasibility of implementing tobacco use screening and brief cessation interventions during mobile health access events. A brief tobacco use survey was administered verbally during events at two food pantries and one homeless shelter in Indiana to assess the interest and potential demand for tobacco cessation assistance. Individuals currently using tobacco were advised to quit, assessed for their readiness to quit, and, if interested, offered a tobacco quitline card.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: The COVID-19 pandemic laid bare some of the United States' most devastating health and social inequities faced by people experiencing homelessness. Homeless populations experience disproportionate rates of underlying health conditions, stigma and marginalization that often disenfranchise them from health and social services, and living conditions that potentiate the risk of COVID-19 transmission and adverse outcomes.
Methods: Guided by the socio-ecological model, this community-based participatory research study examined the impacts of the COVID-19 public health crisis on people experiencing homelessness in Tippecanoe County, Indiana, and the ways in which homeless service providers prepared for, experienced, and responded to the pandemic.