The research will take place over 2 years at the Long Island Zucker Hillside Hospital system. In Year 1, we will adapt our electronic decision support system, a web-based motivational tool, for young smokers with severe mental illness. We will first identify beliefs of young smokers with severe mental illness that impede use of smoking cessation treatments. Then, the decision support system will be revised to change these beliefs, field-tested for usability, and improved as needed. In Year 2, we will conduct a randomized control trial of the newly revised version of the system among 60 young smokers with severe psychotic disorders.
In the controlled trial, participants will be assessed at baseline for mental health symptoms and smoking behavior and history, and then randomized to use the system or a computerized public health pamphlet (control condition) within two weeks. Participants will be assessed again at 14-week follow-up for clinician-confirmed initiation of smoking cessation treatment (main outcome), beliefs, and smoking characteristics. Analyses will assess whether use of the decision support system results in greater initiation of cessation treatment (main outcome), and changes in beliefs about treatment, than use of the control intervention.
