Browsing by Author "Sweitzer, Maggie M"

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    Cigarette Smoking and Cessation-Related Interactions With Health Care Providers in the Context of Living With HIV: Focus Group Study Findings.
    (The Journal of the Association of Nurses in AIDS Care : JANAC, 2020-07-02) Pacek, Lauren R; Holloway, Alicia D; Cropsey, Karen L; Meade, Christina S; Sweitzer, Maggie M; Davis, James M; McClernon, F Joseph
    Smoking is disproportionately prevalent among people living with HIV (PLWH) compared with the general population. We conducted five focus groups (n = 24) using semi-structured interview guides to explore perceptions and experiences of smoking and cessation-related interactions with health care providers among smokers with HIV. Major themes included a limited understanding of how smoking affects illness among PLWH and minimal discussion about cessation with providers. Findings highlight the need to educate smokers with HIV about the known impacts of smoking on illness among PLWH and to facilitate greater discussion of cessation between providers and smokers with HIV. Prior experiences with smoking cessation medications and desire for additional information regarding these medications should be considered when implementing medication regimens in research and clinical settings.
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    Experiences With Smoking Cessation Attempts and Prior Use of Cessation Aids in Smokers With HIV: Findings From a Focus Group Study Conducted in Durham, North Carolina.
    (AIDS education and prevention : official publication of the International Society for AIDS Education, 2021-04) Pacek, Lauren R; Holloway, Alicia D; Cropsey, Karen L; Meade, Christina S; Sweitzer, Maggie M; Davis, James M; Joseph McClernon, F
    Cigarette smoking remains disproportionately prevalent and is increasingly a cause of death and disability among people with HIV (PWH). Many PWH are interested in quitting, but interest in and uptake of first-line smoking cessation pharmacotherapies are varied in this population. To provide current data regarding experiences with and perceptions of smoking cessation and cessation aids among PWH living in Durham, North Carolina, the authors conducted five focus group interviews (total n = 24; 96% African American) using semistructured interviews. Interviews were recorded, transcribed, coded, and thematically analyzed. Major themes included ambivalence and/or lack of interest in cessation; presence of cessation barriers; perceived perceptions of ineffectiveness of cessation aids; perceived medication side effects; and conflation of the harms resulting from use of tobacco products and nicotine replacement therapy. Innovative and effective interventions must account for the aforementioned multiple barriers to cessation as well as prior experiences with and misperceptions regarding cessation aids.
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    "I Use Weed for My ADHD": A Qualitative Analysis of Online Forum Discussions on Cannabis Use and ADHD.
    (PLoS One, 2016) Mitchell, John T; Sweitzer, Maggie M; Tunno, Angela M; Kollins, Scott H; McClernon, F Joseph
    BACKGROUND: Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a risk factor for problematic cannabis use. However, clinical and anecdotal evidence suggest an increasingly popular perception that cannabis is therapeutic for ADHD, including via online resources. Given that the Internet is increasingly utilized as a source of healthcare information and may influence perceptions, we conducted a qualitative analysis of online forum discussions, also referred to as threads, on the effects of cannabis on ADHD to systematically characterize the content patients and caregivers may encounter about ADHD and cannabis. METHODS: A total of 268 separate forum threads were identified. Twenty percent (20%) were randomly selected, which yielded 55 separate forum threads (mean number of individual posts per forum thread = 17.53) scored by three raters (Cohen's kappa = 0.74). A final sample of 401 posts in these forum threads received at least one endorsement on predetermined topics following qualitative coding procedures. RESULTS: Twenty-five (25%) percent of individual posts indicated that cannabis is therapeutic for ADHD, as opposed to 8% that it is harmful, 5% that it is both therapeutic and harmful, and 2% that it has no effect on ADHD. This pattern was generally consistent when the year of each post was considered. The greater endorsement of therapeutic versus harmful effects of cannabis did not generalize to mood, other (non-ADHD) psychiatric conditions, or overall domains of daily life. Additional themes emerged (e.g., cannabis being considered sanctioned by healthcare providers). CONCLUSIONS: Despite that there are no clinical recommendations or systematic research supporting the beneficial effects of cannabis use for ADHD, online discussions indicate that cannabis is considered therapeutic for ADHD-this is the first study to identify such a trend. This type of online information could shape ADHD patient and caregiver perceptions, and influence cannabis use and clinical care.
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    The Effect of Brief Mindfulness Training on Brain Reactivity to Food Cues During Nicotine Withdrawal: A Pilot Functional Imaging Study.
    (Mindfulness, 2019-11) Kragel, Emily A; Sweitzer, Maggie M; Davis, James M
    Objectives:Many individuals who smoke relapse due to weight gain. Mindfulness training has been shown to help smokers quit smoking, and, in other populations, has been used to help people lose weight. This study was designed to assess the effect of one week of mindfulness practice on food cravings in smokers during 12-hour smoking abstinence. Methods:We assessed daily smokers with a history of smoking lapse after weight gain. Participants were provided with brief training in mindfulness meditation and mindful eating and were asked to practice each skill daily for one week. Before and after this week of mindfulness practice, participants completed surveys to rate their nicotine dependence and food cravings and underwent testing via functional magnetic resonance imaging. Results:Study results included pre-post intervention reduction in brain activity in dorsomedial prefrontal cortex, visual areas, and pre-motor areas, regions potentially associated with response to food images. Conclusions:The study was small; however, it suggests the possibility that mindfulness training might be used to decrease food cravings after smoking cessation.