Smoking Cessation in Women With Severe Mental Illness: Exploring the Role of Exercise as an Adjunct Treatment

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Objective

The aim of this study was to investigate the potential role of exercise in smoking cessation in women with severe mental illness (SMI).

Methods

Semistructured interviews with 12 women diagnosed with SMI receiving smoking cessation treatment were conducted.

Results

Participants perceived three roles for exercise in assisting smoking cessation—addressing fears with preexisting chronic health conditions, emotion management and distraction, and weight management. Most participants identified health care providers (HCPs) as needing to play a supportive role in integrating exercise into smoking cessation attempts.

Conclusion

Findings support a potential role for exercise in facilitating smoking cessation among women with SMI.

Practice Implications

HCPs should consider developing referral links with exercise specialists to facilitate smoking cessation in women with SMI.

Section snippets

Sample and Procedures

The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) is Canada's leading institute for addiction and mental health research and home to the largest mental illness research program in Canada. Over a 1-month period, a convenience sample of 18 female patients diagnosed with SMI and who were seeking smoking cessation treatment from the Nicotine Dependence Clinic at CAMH were consecutively recruited for one individual interview. Approximately 75% of the total clinic users have some concurrent mental

Participant Descriptives

Participant descriptives are shown in Table 2. The mean ± SD age of the participants was 53.67 ± 12.97 years. Most participants were overweight, divorced, unemployed, and Caucasian. Of the 12 women interviewed, three had bipolar disorder, three had schizophrenia, two had anxiety disorders, two had major depression, and two had a combination of anxiety and major depression. Eight women were currently trying to quit smoking, whereas the remaining four women had quit within the past 4 years.

The Role of Exercise Within Smoking Cessation for Women With SMI

In the

Discussion

This study was a qualitative investigation of the role of exercise in smoking cessation for women with SMI enrolled in an established cessation program. Overall, most of the women interviewed (i.e., 9/12) thought that exercise had a positive role in smoking cessation and identified three specific ways that exercise may help smoking cessation attempts, alleviating fears associated with preexisting chronic health conditions, assisting emotion management and distraction, and weight management. We

Acknowledgment

Funding for this study was provided by a Seed Grant from the Canadian Action Network for the Advancement, Dissemination, and Adoption of Practice-Informed Tobacco Treatment (CAN-ADAPTT).

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