Laura Solomon - Academia.edu (original) (raw)
Papers by Laura Solomon
Nicotine & Tobacco Research, 2009
This study tested the impact of continuous miles per gallon (MPG) feedback on driving behavior an... more This study tested the impact of continuous miles per gallon (MPG) feedback on driving behavior and fuel efficiency in gas-powered cars. The authors compared an experimental condition, where drivers received real-time MPG feedback and a tip sheet, to a control condition without such feedback at the time the experimental participants received it. The authors had three study aims: (1) to modify the fuel efficiency obtained while driving gas-powered cars; (2) to modify the driving behaviors of drivers of gas-powered cars; and (3) to explore ways to improve the feedback display among users. The study found an average MPG improvement of 7.5% over a one-month feedback period, an effect that 15% of the time would be observed by chance. This provides an unclear foundation for broad implementation of the fuel-economy feedback intervention. Although the appeal of a low-cost and easy-to-distribute feedback device that would improve fuel economy by 7.5% is strong, it must be tempered by an analy...
Addictive Behaviors
Four post-hoc analyses of prior trials found smokers using nicotine patch following a lapse were ... more Four post-hoc analyses of prior trials found smokers using nicotine patch following a lapse were less likely to progress to relapse compared to those using a placebo patch following a lapse. We attempted a conceptual replication test of these results via a randomized trial of instructions to continue vs. stop nicotine patch after a lapse. Smokers trying to quit (n=701) received nicotine patch (21/14/7mg) and brief phone counseling (six 15-min sessions). We randomized smokers to receive instructions for and rationale for stopping vs. continuing patch after a lapse. The messages were repeated before and after cessation and following lapses via counseling, phone and written instructions. Among those who lapsed, those told to Continue Patch did not have a greater incidence of 7-day abstinence at 4months (primary outcome) than those told to Discontinue Patch (51% vs. 46%). Most (81%) participants in the Discontinue condition stopped patch for only 1-2days and then resumed abstinence and patch use. Analyses based on all participants randomized were similar. Adverse events were as expected and did not differ between conditions. Instructions to continue nicotine patch after a lapse did not increase return to abstinence. These negative results may have occurred because actual use of patch after a lapse was similar in the two conditions. Also, allowing patch use while smoking may have reduced motivation to stay abstinent.
Archives of Internal Medicine, Jul 1, 1989
Periodic health examinations are an excellent opportunity to counsel smokers to quit. The impact ... more Periodic health examinations are an excellent opportunity to counsel smokers to quit. The impact of a specialized smoking cessation counselor on the smoking behavior of patients having periodic health examinations was studied in a general internal medicine practice. One hundred fifty-five smokers having periodic health examinations were randomly assigned to a control group who received usual physician advice or an intervention group who received usual physician advice and two counseling sessions with a smoking cessation counselor. The two groups were similar in all demographic variables, smoking-related baseline variables, and baseline levels of motivation and intention to quit smoking. The smoking status of 97% of the subjects was assessed 6 months later. In the intervention group, 46% made quit attempts and 19% quit, compared with 34% and 12%, respectively, in the control group. Intervention-group smokers made more quit attempts (mean +/- SD, 5.0 +/- 2.5 vs 1.8 +/- 0.2) and had a greater reduction in daily cigarette use (8.4 +/- 1.5 vs 3.5 +/- 1.3). Of the 74% of smokers with higher levels of motivation to quit smoking, more intervention-group smokers attempted to quit (70.8% vs 45.5%) and succeeded in quitting at the 6-month follow-up (27.1% vs 10.9%). Periodic health examinations are an excellent opportunity to counsel smokers to quit, especially those smokers with higher levels of motivation to quit smoking.
Addiction, Jul 1, 2007
To test if goals indicate motivation to quit smoking and predict which smokers will make a quit a... more To test if goals indicate motivation to quit smoking and predict which smokers will make a quit attempt. A 28-day natural history feasibility study of smoking cessation and reduction. The study was conducted via telephone calls and mailings. A total of 186 cigarette smokers. At baseline participants reported one of the following goals for the next 30 days: to quit abruptly, quit gradually, reduce but not quit, or not change their smoking. They also reported motivation to quit smoking on an Intention to Quit Ladder. Throughout the study they reported their cigarette consumption via daily telephone messages. Self-reported motivation to quit differed among goals (F = 286.6, df = 3, P < 0.01). Goals significantly predicted the likelihood of making a quit attempt in the 28 days of the study. In comparison to smokers with the goal of not changing, smokers with a goal of quitting abruptly were more likely to make a quit attempt [relative risk (RR) = 9.6, P < 0.01], as were those with a goal of quitting gradually (RR = 4.5, P = 0.01). Those with a goal of reducing only appeared to be more likely to make a quit attempt than those with a goal of not changing, but the difference was not statistically significant (RR = 3.1, P = 0.15). Smokers with a goal of quitting abruptly were more likely to make a quit attempt than those with a goal of quitting gradually (RR = 2.1, P < 0.05). Goals indicate not only preferred method of change but also motivation. Differences in gradual versus abrupt cessation outcomes may be due to motivational rather than methodological differences. Those who plan to quit gradually or reduce only may need additional motivational interventions.
American Journal of Preventive Medicine, Jul 1, 1998
Health education
ABSTRACT Businesses with limited resources to invest can successfully carry out programs that pro... more ABSTRACT Businesses with limited resources to invest can successfully carry out programs that promote healthful behavior in their employees. The design and implementation of such a program, which encourages exercise, healthful eating, weight management, nonsmoking, and stress management, is described. (PP)
The Journal of the American Dental Association, 1989
The general practitioners of the Vermont State Dental Society (251) were surveyed in 1986 to dete... more The general practitioners of the Vermont State Dental Society (251) were surveyed in 1986 to determine their smoking cessation activities. Seventy-eight percent of the dentists completed the survey and 87% reported that they discussed concerns about smoking with their patients who smoke. They estimated spending an average of 2.4 minutes addressing cigarette smoking issues. Among those dentists who discussed smoking issues, the majority (60%) provided some advice on ways to change smoking behavior. The remaining 40% provided no guidance regarding smoking behavior change. The larger the proportion of smokers advised about smoking, the greater the dentists' interest in using incentives to help smokers make an attempt to quit.
Cancer Practice, 2001
This study examined factors associated with fecal occult blood test (FOBT) and sigmoidoscopy scre... more This study examined factors associated with fecal occult blood test (FOBT) and sigmoidoscopy screening use among Chinese-American women age 60 years and older. One hundred women were recruited from senior centers in two metropolitan areas on the east coast of the United States. Participants completed a questionnaire that included sections on demographics, health history, health insurance coverage, FOBT and sigmoidoscopy use, common and cultural barriers to colorectal cancer screening, and acculturation. Logistic regression models found greater acculturation to be a significant predictor of having had a FOBT at least once, and found both greater acculturation and physician recommendation to be significant predictors of having had a sigmoidoscopy at least once. No significant predictors were found for regular adherence to colorectal screening guidelines, which include having undergone an FOBT in the past year and sigmoidoscopy in the past 5 years. This study found that older Chinese-American women underuse FOBT and sigmoidoscopy screening, as is recommended by the American Cancer Society colorectal cancer screening guidelines. These findings suggest that cultural factors may influence the initiation of colorectal cancer screening for Chinese-American women but are not predictive of adherence to screening over time. Outreach efforts to promote colorectal cancer screening in this population might target women who are less acculturated to facilitate an initial entry into the Western healthcare system to obtain screening.
Preventive Medicine, 1994
Preventive Medicine, 1990
This study reports on the effects of innovative community-wide breast self-examination education ... more This study reports on the effects of innovative community-wide breast self-examination education approaches in increasing breast self-examination frequency and quality, and ability to detect breast lumps during a 1-year training program and a second-year maintenance program. Four Vermont communities were randomly assigned to receive breast self-examination training plus maintenance, training alone, control (with full measurement), and low-measurement control. Random digit dialing telephone surveys were conducted at baseline and at 1- and 2-year follow-up with a panel of 637 women representing all adult women in the first three communities. The low-measurement control community received only baseline and second-year follow-up surveys with a panel of 238 women. Home interviews to determine breast self-examination palpation skills and lump detection on silicone breast models were conducted in first- and second-year follow-up surveys. Results of the first-year follow-up survey indicated significant increases in breast self-examination frequency, quality, and number of lumps detected for women in communities receiving the training program compared with controls; in the second year, women in the community also receiving breast self-examination maintenance showed greater improvement in reported breast self-examination quality and detected more breast lumps than did women in other communities.
Preventive Medicine, 1990
Predictors of smoking behavior change were examined in a randomized controlled trial of individua... more Predictors of smoking behavior change were examined in a randomized controlled trial of individualized smoking cessation counseling delivered by a smoking cessation counselor during periodic health examination. Self-reports of not smoking at 6 and 18 months and attempts to quit were greater, but not significantly so, in the intervention group compared with the usual care group. There was no difference between the intervention group and the usual care group in reported continuous abstinence. Multivariate analysis showed that longer periods of abstinence in the past and having smoking identified as the main problem were important predictors of subsequent quitting. Having fewer other smokers in the household, stronger intentions to stop smoking in the next month, and being in the intervention group were also significant predictors of abstinence at 6 months, but not at 18 months. Those who had tried to quit by 6 months and 18 months were more likely to be in the intervention group, to have greater motivation to stop smoking, and to have more problems of daily living. Supplementing physician's advice with individualized smoking cessation counseling during health maintenance examinations was associated with a greater short-term quit rate and more quit attempts over 18 months than physician advice alone, but did not influence continuous abstinence from cigarettes over this time.
Physiology & Behavior, 1980
Nicotine & Tobacco Research, 2004
The Journal of Primary Prevention, 1988
The Journal of Primary Prevention, 1984
Journal of Organizational Behavior Management, 1983
... least one re-cent study has shown that when males and females exhibit the same assertive resp... more ... least one re-cent study has shown that when males and females exhibit the same assertive response in social conflict situations, observers evaluate the female model in much less favorable terms than the male model who behaves identically (Kelly, Kern, Kirkley, Patterson, & ...
Nicotine & Tobacco Research, 2009
This study tested the impact of continuous miles per gallon (MPG) feedback on driving behavior an... more This study tested the impact of continuous miles per gallon (MPG) feedback on driving behavior and fuel efficiency in gas-powered cars. The authors compared an experimental condition, where drivers received real-time MPG feedback and a tip sheet, to a control condition without such feedback at the time the experimental participants received it. The authors had three study aims: (1) to modify the fuel efficiency obtained while driving gas-powered cars; (2) to modify the driving behaviors of drivers of gas-powered cars; and (3) to explore ways to improve the feedback display among users. The study found an average MPG improvement of 7.5% over a one-month feedback period, an effect that 15% of the time would be observed by chance. This provides an unclear foundation for broad implementation of the fuel-economy feedback intervention. Although the appeal of a low-cost and easy-to-distribute feedback device that would improve fuel economy by 7.5% is strong, it must be tempered by an analy...
Addictive Behaviors
Four post-hoc analyses of prior trials found smokers using nicotine patch following a lapse were ... more Four post-hoc analyses of prior trials found smokers using nicotine patch following a lapse were less likely to progress to relapse compared to those using a placebo patch following a lapse. We attempted a conceptual replication test of these results via a randomized trial of instructions to continue vs. stop nicotine patch after a lapse. Smokers trying to quit (n=701) received nicotine patch (21/14/7mg) and brief phone counseling (six 15-min sessions). We randomized smokers to receive instructions for and rationale for stopping vs. continuing patch after a lapse. The messages were repeated before and after cessation and following lapses via counseling, phone and written instructions. Among those who lapsed, those told to Continue Patch did not have a greater incidence of 7-day abstinence at 4months (primary outcome) than those told to Discontinue Patch (51% vs. 46%). Most (81%) participants in the Discontinue condition stopped patch for only 1-2days and then resumed abstinence and patch use. Analyses based on all participants randomized were similar. Adverse events were as expected and did not differ between conditions. Instructions to continue nicotine patch after a lapse did not increase return to abstinence. These negative results may have occurred because actual use of patch after a lapse was similar in the two conditions. Also, allowing patch use while smoking may have reduced motivation to stay abstinent.
Archives of Internal Medicine, Jul 1, 1989
Periodic health examinations are an excellent opportunity to counsel smokers to quit. The impact ... more Periodic health examinations are an excellent opportunity to counsel smokers to quit. The impact of a specialized smoking cessation counselor on the smoking behavior of patients having periodic health examinations was studied in a general internal medicine practice. One hundred fifty-five smokers having periodic health examinations were randomly assigned to a control group who received usual physician advice or an intervention group who received usual physician advice and two counseling sessions with a smoking cessation counselor. The two groups were similar in all demographic variables, smoking-related baseline variables, and baseline levels of motivation and intention to quit smoking. The smoking status of 97% of the subjects was assessed 6 months later. In the intervention group, 46% made quit attempts and 19% quit, compared with 34% and 12%, respectively, in the control group. Intervention-group smokers made more quit attempts (mean +/- SD, 5.0 +/- 2.5 vs 1.8 +/- 0.2) and had a greater reduction in daily cigarette use (8.4 +/- 1.5 vs 3.5 +/- 1.3). Of the 74% of smokers with higher levels of motivation to quit smoking, more intervention-group smokers attempted to quit (70.8% vs 45.5%) and succeeded in quitting at the 6-month follow-up (27.1% vs 10.9%). Periodic health examinations are an excellent opportunity to counsel smokers to quit, especially those smokers with higher levels of motivation to quit smoking.
Addiction, Jul 1, 2007
To test if goals indicate motivation to quit smoking and predict which smokers will make a quit a... more To test if goals indicate motivation to quit smoking and predict which smokers will make a quit attempt. A 28-day natural history feasibility study of smoking cessation and reduction. The study was conducted via telephone calls and mailings. A total of 186 cigarette smokers. At baseline participants reported one of the following goals for the next 30 days: to quit abruptly, quit gradually, reduce but not quit, or not change their smoking. They also reported motivation to quit smoking on an Intention to Quit Ladder. Throughout the study they reported their cigarette consumption via daily telephone messages. Self-reported motivation to quit differed among goals (F = 286.6, df = 3, P < 0.01). Goals significantly predicted the likelihood of making a quit attempt in the 28 days of the study. In comparison to smokers with the goal of not changing, smokers with a goal of quitting abruptly were more likely to make a quit attempt [relative risk (RR) = 9.6, P < 0.01], as were those with a goal of quitting gradually (RR = 4.5, P = 0.01). Those with a goal of reducing only appeared to be more likely to make a quit attempt than those with a goal of not changing, but the difference was not statistically significant (RR = 3.1, P = 0.15). Smokers with a goal of quitting abruptly were more likely to make a quit attempt than those with a goal of quitting gradually (RR = 2.1, P < 0.05). Goals indicate not only preferred method of change but also motivation. Differences in gradual versus abrupt cessation outcomes may be due to motivational rather than methodological differences. Those who plan to quit gradually or reduce only may need additional motivational interventions.
American Journal of Preventive Medicine, Jul 1, 1998
Health education
ABSTRACT Businesses with limited resources to invest can successfully carry out programs that pro... more ABSTRACT Businesses with limited resources to invest can successfully carry out programs that promote healthful behavior in their employees. The design and implementation of such a program, which encourages exercise, healthful eating, weight management, nonsmoking, and stress management, is described. (PP)
The Journal of the American Dental Association, 1989
The general practitioners of the Vermont State Dental Society (251) were surveyed in 1986 to dete... more The general practitioners of the Vermont State Dental Society (251) were surveyed in 1986 to determine their smoking cessation activities. Seventy-eight percent of the dentists completed the survey and 87% reported that they discussed concerns about smoking with their patients who smoke. They estimated spending an average of 2.4 minutes addressing cigarette smoking issues. Among those dentists who discussed smoking issues, the majority (60%) provided some advice on ways to change smoking behavior. The remaining 40% provided no guidance regarding smoking behavior change. The larger the proportion of smokers advised about smoking, the greater the dentists' interest in using incentives to help smokers make an attempt to quit.
Cancer Practice, 2001
This study examined factors associated with fecal occult blood test (FOBT) and sigmoidoscopy scre... more This study examined factors associated with fecal occult blood test (FOBT) and sigmoidoscopy screening use among Chinese-American women age 60 years and older. One hundred women were recruited from senior centers in two metropolitan areas on the east coast of the United States. Participants completed a questionnaire that included sections on demographics, health history, health insurance coverage, FOBT and sigmoidoscopy use, common and cultural barriers to colorectal cancer screening, and acculturation. Logistic regression models found greater acculturation to be a significant predictor of having had a FOBT at least once, and found both greater acculturation and physician recommendation to be significant predictors of having had a sigmoidoscopy at least once. No significant predictors were found for regular adherence to colorectal screening guidelines, which include having undergone an FOBT in the past year and sigmoidoscopy in the past 5 years. This study found that older Chinese-American women underuse FOBT and sigmoidoscopy screening, as is recommended by the American Cancer Society colorectal cancer screening guidelines. These findings suggest that cultural factors may influence the initiation of colorectal cancer screening for Chinese-American women but are not predictive of adherence to screening over time. Outreach efforts to promote colorectal cancer screening in this population might target women who are less acculturated to facilitate an initial entry into the Western healthcare system to obtain screening.
Preventive Medicine, 1994
Preventive Medicine, 1990
This study reports on the effects of innovative community-wide breast self-examination education ... more This study reports on the effects of innovative community-wide breast self-examination education approaches in increasing breast self-examination frequency and quality, and ability to detect breast lumps during a 1-year training program and a second-year maintenance program. Four Vermont communities were randomly assigned to receive breast self-examination training plus maintenance, training alone, control (with full measurement), and low-measurement control. Random digit dialing telephone surveys were conducted at baseline and at 1- and 2-year follow-up with a panel of 637 women representing all adult women in the first three communities. The low-measurement control community received only baseline and second-year follow-up surveys with a panel of 238 women. Home interviews to determine breast self-examination palpation skills and lump detection on silicone breast models were conducted in first- and second-year follow-up surveys. Results of the first-year follow-up survey indicated significant increases in breast self-examination frequency, quality, and number of lumps detected for women in communities receiving the training program compared with controls; in the second year, women in the community also receiving breast self-examination maintenance showed greater improvement in reported breast self-examination quality and detected more breast lumps than did women in other communities.
Preventive Medicine, 1990
Predictors of smoking behavior change were examined in a randomized controlled trial of individua... more Predictors of smoking behavior change were examined in a randomized controlled trial of individualized smoking cessation counseling delivered by a smoking cessation counselor during periodic health examination. Self-reports of not smoking at 6 and 18 months and attempts to quit were greater, but not significantly so, in the intervention group compared with the usual care group. There was no difference between the intervention group and the usual care group in reported continuous abstinence. Multivariate analysis showed that longer periods of abstinence in the past and having smoking identified as the main problem were important predictors of subsequent quitting. Having fewer other smokers in the household, stronger intentions to stop smoking in the next month, and being in the intervention group were also significant predictors of abstinence at 6 months, but not at 18 months. Those who had tried to quit by 6 months and 18 months were more likely to be in the intervention group, to have greater motivation to stop smoking, and to have more problems of daily living. Supplementing physician's advice with individualized smoking cessation counseling during health maintenance examinations was associated with a greater short-term quit rate and more quit attempts over 18 months than physician advice alone, but did not influence continuous abstinence from cigarettes over this time.
Physiology & Behavior, 1980
Nicotine & Tobacco Research, 2004
The Journal of Primary Prevention, 1988
The Journal of Primary Prevention, 1984
Journal of Organizational Behavior Management, 1983
... least one re-cent study has shown that when males and females exhibit the same assertive resp... more ... least one re-cent study has shown that when males and females exhibit the same assertive response in social conflict situations, observers evaluate the female model in much less favorable terms than the male model who behaves identically (Kelly, Kern, Kirkley, Patterson, & ...