The Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine has begun a new study to evaluate whether treatment that personalizes the selection of smoking cessation medication plus treatment that focuses on medication adherence can optimize long-term quitting for individuals living with HIV.
This study is led by Brian Hitsman, PhD, through the Department of Preventive Medicine, and Chad Achenbach, MD, MPH, a Third Coast CFAR co-investigator, through the Department of Medicine.
Two new approaches and their combination are being studied:
- Tailoring the selection of smoking cessation medication (nicotine patch or varenicline/Chantix®) based on an individual’s rate of nicotine metabolism versus not tailoring medication (varenicline/Chantix® is automatically selected).
- Enhanced medication adherence counseling that is based on managed problem-solving versus standard adherence counseling.
All participants in this study will receive standard-of-care smoking cessation medication (nicotine patch or varenicline/Chantix®) and five behavioral counseling sessions by telephone. All treatment (medication and counseling) is offered free of charge.
To be eligible, patients must be:
- 18 years of age or older
- Daily smokers who want to quit smoking
- HIV-positive on antiretroviral therapy with current HIV viral load <1000 copies/mL