Abstract
Smoking among individuals with serious mental illness (SMI) creates significant health problems. This study explored stage of change transitions over time among smokers with serious mental illness (SMI) and how dose of a brief intervention and other psychosocial variables were related to stage transitions. Participants were a subsample of 110 patients who participated in a larger controlled trial (Dixon, et al., 2009) examining whether psychiatrists in mental health clinics implementing the "5A's" (Ask, Advise, Assess, Assist, and Arrange) significantly reduced smoking among persons with SMI. Participants were classified into one of the Transtheoretical Model (TTM) Stages of Change for Smoking Cessation as well as classified into groups based upon the pattern of stage status transitions over time (i.e., Regressors, Stable, Inconsistent, Progressors with and without a successful quit). Modest quit rates for this brief intervention were found at one-year (6.4%) and the dose of the intervention was meaningfully related to positive stage transitions. Cessation outcomes from the controlled trial (Dixon, et al., 2009) indicated a small effect on smoking cessation, which is confirmed in this stage transition secondary analysis with a subset of these smokers. However, these results suggest that a brief intervention delivered by psychiatrists in a mental health treatment setting does seem to make an impact on these smokers.