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Objective: Our goal in this study was to determine if we could replicate initial findings when providing the intervention, Un Abrazo Para La Familia ("Abrazo"). Abrazo is a community-focused psychoeducational preventive intervention addressing the cancer information and coping needs of low-income, underserved family members of cancer survivors, developed and first implemented in Tucson, Arizona.Methods: We used a preintervention and postintervention evaluation design to assess the effectiveness of replicating the Abrazo intervention with underserved Hispanic/Latino family members facing cancer as co-survivors. We describe lessons learned in an expansion of Abrazo from one region of the United States to another.Results: Portland promotoras demonstrated that when the Abrazo intervention is provided via a culturally congruent, accessible format, the significant gains in cancer knowledge and self-efficacy reported by underserved co-survivors can be replicated. This is important because Oregon represents a US region different from Abrazo's origins in the Southwest.Conclusion: Our replication study provides a useful roadmap for others focusing on the psychosocial needs of Hispanic/Latino cosurviving family members of cancer. A manualized 12-hour training program based on the initial discovery and efficacy work was developed to train promotoras as a part of this study. The manual provides a clear protocol for others to replicate our intervention and evaluation procedures. Abrazo may be particularly important for family-centered care if the family does not have the cancer knowledge or self-confidence needed to fully participate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Thirty years after the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was passed, promising equal access to health services for people with disabilities and serious mental illness, research on Pap testing continues to uncover health disparities among women with disabilities and women with serious mental illnesses, including those that identify as an ethnic/racial minority. Aim: The purpose of this paper is to describe and present the literature on the barriers and facilitators women with disabilities and women with serious mental illnesses face with receiving a Pap test using the social ecological model. We also examined the degree to which racial/ethnic minority women were included in these articles. Method: A scoping review was conducted where the research team searched United States academic literature from 1990 through February 2020 in PubMed, Medline, and CINAHL using general subject headings for disability, mental illness, and Pap testing. Results: Thirty-two articles met inclusion criteria. More barriers than facilitators were mentioned in articles. Barriers and facilitators are organized into three groups according to social ecological model and include individual (e.g., socioeconomic status, anxiety, education), interpersonal (e.g., family, living environment), and organizational factors (health care provider training, health care system). Participant's race/ethnicity were often reported but minoritized populations were often not the focus of articles. Conclusions: More articles discussed the difficulties that women with disabilities and women with serious mental illnesses face with receiving a Pap test than facilitators to Pap testing. Additional research should focus on the intersectionality race/ethnicity and women with disabilities and women with serious mental illnesses in relation to Pap testing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Successful recruitment of participants to mobile health (mHealth) studies presents unique challenges over in-person studies. It is important to identify recruitment strategies that maximize the limited recruitment resources available to researchers. Objective: The objective of this study was to describe a case study of a unique recruitment process used in a recent mHealth software app designed to increase smoking cessation among weight-concerned women smokers. The See Me Smoke-Free app was deployed to the Google Play Store (Alphabet, Inc., Google, LLC), where potential participants could download the app and enroll in the study. Users were invited in-app to participate in the study, with no in-person contact. The recruitment activities relied primarily on earned (free) and social media. Methods: To determine the relationship between recruitment activities and participant enrollment, the researchers explored trends in earned and social media activity in relation to app installations, examined social media messaging in relation to reach or impressions, and described app users' self-reported referral source. The researchers collected and descriptively analyzed data regarding recruitment activities, social media audience, and app use during the 18-week recruitment period (March 30, 2015-July 31, 2015). Data were collected and aggregated from internal staff activity tracking documents and from Web-based data analytics software such as SumAll, Facebook Insights (Facebook, Inc.), and Google Analytics (Alphabet, Inc., Google, LLC). Results: Media coverage was documented across 75 publications and radio or television broadcasts, 35 of which were local, 39 national, and 1 international. The research team made 30 Facebook posts and 49 tweets, yielding 1821 reaches and 6336 impressions, respectively. From March 30, 2015 to July 31, 2015, 289 unique users downloaded the app, and 151 participants enrolled in the study. Conclusions: Research identifying effective online recruitment methods for mHealth studies remains minimal, and findings are inconsistent. We demonstrated how earned media can be leveraged to recruit women to an mHealth smoking cessation trial at low cost. Using earned media and leveraging social media allowed us to enroll 3 times the number of participants that we anticipated enrolling. The cost of earned media resides in the staff time required to manage it, particularly the regular interaction with social media. We recommend communication and cooperation with university public affairs and social media offices, as well as affiliate programs in journalism and communications, so that earned media can be used as a recruitment strategy for mHealth behavior change interventions. However, press releases are not always picked up by the media and should not be considered as a stand-alone method of recruitment. Careful consideration of an intervention's broad appeal and how that translates into potential media interest is needed when including earned media as part of a comprehensive recruitment plan for mHealth research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Tobacco use continues to be a leading preventable cause of death and disease in the United States, accounting for >480,000 deaths each year. Although treatments for tobacco use are effective for many, there is substantial variability in outcomes, and these approaches are not effective for all individuals seeking to quit smoking cigarettes. New, effective therapeutic approaches are needed to meet the preferences of people who want to stop smoking. Guided imagery (GI) is a mind-body technique that involves the guided visualization of specific mental images, which is enhanced with other sensory modalities and emotions. Preliminary evidence provides initial support for the use of GI as a treatment for cigarette smoking. Meta-analyses have shown that standard treatment for cigarette smoking delivered over the telephone via quitlines is effective. A telephone-based intervention that uses GI might provide another effective treatment option and increase the reach and effectiveness of quitlines., Objective: This study aims to test the efficacy of Be Smoke Free, a telephone-delivered GI treatment for smoking cessation., Methods: This multisite randomized clinical trial (RCT) will compare a novel telephone-delivered GI tobacco cessation treatment with a standard evidence-based behavioral treatment. The study will be conducted over 5 years. In phase 1, we refined protocols and procedures for the New York State and West Virginia sites for use in the RCT. During phase 2, we will conduct an RCT with 1200 participants: 600 (50%) recruited via quitlines and 600 (50%) recruited via population-based methods. Participants will be randomly assigned to either the GI condition or the behavioral condition; both treatments will be delivered by trained study coaches located at the University of Arizona. Assessments will be conducted at baseline and 3 and 6 months after enrollment by University of Arizona research staff. The primary outcome will be self-reported 30-day point prevalence abstinence 6 months after enrollment. Secondary outcomes include biochemically verified 7-day point prevalence abstinence 6 months after enrollment., Results: Recruitment in West Virginia and New York began in October 2022. As of March 31, 2023, a total of 242 participants had been enrolled. Follow-up assessments began in November 2022. As of March 31, 2023, of the 118 eligible participants, 97 (82.2%) had completed the 3-month assessment, and 93% (26/28) of eligible participants had completed the 6-month assessment. Biochemical verification and qualitative interviews began in April 2023. Recruitment will continue through 2025 and follow-up assessments through 2026. Primary results are expected to be published in 2027., Conclusions: The Be Smoke Free study is a first-of-its-kind RCT that incorporates GI into telephone-based tobacco cessation treatment. If successful, Be Smoke Free will have substantial benefits for the long-term health of people who use tobacco across the United States., Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT05277831; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT05277831., International Registered Report Identifier (irrid): PRR1-10.2196/48898., (©Judith S Gordon, Julie S Armin, Peter Giacobbi Jr, Chiu-Hsieh Hsu, Kari Marano, Christine E Sheffer. Originally published in JMIR Research Protocols (https://www.researchprotocols.org), 23.06.2023.)

In a recent national survey, over 50% of physicians reported not feeling confident in their ability to provide care to individuals with disabilities. This finding is troubling as physicians are required by the Americans with Disabilities Act (1990) to ensure their practice is accessible to individuals with disabilities. This commentary addresses the need for including disability in medical education and to provide inclusive and quality care for individuals with disabilities. We offer four recommendations to enhance medical school curricula that would educate medical students to provide equitable health services to individuals with disabilities: 1) embed disability training throughout medical education; 2) educate medical students to recognize multiple models of disability; 3) include education and experience with universal design and supported decision-making; and 4) include individuals with all types of disabilities in medical education. Including disability education for medical students should better prepare future physicians for feeling confident in their ability to provide care to individuals with disabilities., Competing Interests: Disclosure Statement The author(s) have no relevant financial disclosures or conflicts of interest.