Minorities suffer disproportionately from tobacco smoke-related morbidity and mortality nationwide. Tobacco-related illnesses are responsible for approximately 47,000 deaths of African Americans annually. Furthermore, greater tobacco- related health disparities exist among African American women in the state of Pennsylvania and the city of Pittsburgh; as the local and state maternal smoke rates exceed the national average. Additionally, low birth weight and infant mortality rates linked to maternal smoking has been disproportionately elevated among African American women in this geographical area. African American mothers who quit smoking generally have higher relapse rates than their Caucasian counterparts. Research limitations in understanding the smoking cessation, self- quitting and relapse prevention among African American women particularly in Pittsburgh, PA; serves as a foundation for this study. Thus, two focus groups were conducted with a sample of 13 African American maternal smokers in the Pittsburgh area to assess their smoking and quitting experiences as well as their unmet needs for cessation treatment. A brief survey was administered to ascertain the participants socio demographic characteristics. The data collected mirror previous research as nicotine addiction, stress and poor social surroundings act as barriers to successful quitting. The women identified willpower as the key to permanent smoking cessation but lack the self-efficacy to quit. Recommendations for advanced investigations and cessation programs for this population are provided. The findings from this exploratory study are significant to public health research as they provide a guide for future research and offer valuable insight for modifying and creating effective smoking cessation interventions for African American women; which can produce long term effects by decreasing the maternal smoking rate disparity in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:PITT/oai:PITTETD:etd-08032007-203038 |
| Date | 27 September 2007 |
| Creators | Gilchrist, Kellie D. |
| Contributors | Diane J. Abatemarco, PhD, Craig S. Fryer, MPH DrPH, Valire Carr Copeland MSW, MPH, PhD |
| Publisher | University of Pittsburgh |
| Source Sets | University of Pittsburgh |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | http://etd.library.pitt.edu/ETD/available/etd-08032007-203038/ |
| Rights | unrestricted, I hereby certify that, if appropriate, I have obtained and attached hereto a written permission statement from the owner(s) of each third party copyrighted matter to be included in my thesis, dissertation, or project report, allowing distribution as specified below. I certify that the version I submitted is the same as that approved by my advisory committee. I hereby grant to University of Pittsburgh or its agents the non-exclusive license to archive and make accessible, under the conditions specified below, my thesis, dissertation, or project report in whole or in part in all forms of media, now or hereafter known. I retain all other ownership rights to the copyright of the thesis, dissertation or project report. I also retain the right to use in future works (such as articles or books) all or part of this thesis, dissertation, or project report. |
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