Feasibility and Acceptability of Mindfulness-Based Group Visits for Smoking Cessation in Low-Socioeconomic Status and Minority Smokers with Cancer

Smoking cessation studies tailored for low-income and racial/ethnic minority cancer patients are limited. African American and low-socioeconomic status (SES) smokers have higher cancer mortality rates and are less likely to use evidence-based smoking cessation treatments compared with white and higher SES counterparts. Mindfulness training is a promising approach to address racial and SES disparities in smoking cessation. The authors assessed the feasibility and acceptability of a mindfulness-based smoking cessation (MBSC) medical group visit for low-income and racially diverse smokers with cancer. The authors adapted the integrative medical group visit model used for chronic pain and included the You Can Quit smoking cessation curriculum used at the study site, Tobacco Treatment Center. The program was conducted in eight weekly 2-h visits. The authors then tested the feasibility and acceptability of this intervention for actively smoking cancer patients and cancer survivors in two pilot groups ( = 18) using a pre-post design. This study took place at Boston Medical Center, a large urban safety net academic teaching hospital. The authors used a medical group visit intake form to collect data on weekly cigarette intake and home practice. They also gathered additional qualitative data from focus groups and in-depth interviews. Over 50% of participants ( = 10) self-identified as black and 56% reported an annual income of $20,000 or less. Over two-thirds of the participants attended four or more of the eight group visits. There was a significant decrease in weekly cigarette intake from 75.1 cigarettes at baseline to 44.3 at 3 months ( = 0.039). None of the participants quit smoking. Participants were satisfied with the program and reported positive lifestyle changes. MBSC group visits are feasible and acceptable among racially diverse and low-SES smokers with cancer and should be further studied in a larger cohort.