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Dedicated intervention to help people with severe mental illness to quit can double the smoking cessation rate after six months compared to conventional care, a study from the University of York revealed .
Led by the University of York's Research Group on Mental Health and Addiction, SCIMITAR + is the largest trial ever to support smoking cessation among people using mental health services.
Smoking rates among people with mental health problems are among the highest of all groups, having changed little over the last 20 years, while other smokers have quit. This new study shows that with adequate support, this inequality could be a thing of the past.
Behavioral support
Mental health nurses have been trained to provide evidence-based behavioral support to smokers with severe mental illness in their homes, while providing access to nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) and medications.
The researchers found that smokers receiving this support were twice as likely to have quit smoking six months after the intervention than smokers receiving standard care, usually geared toward local service. stop smoking.
Professor Simon Gilbody, Senior Research Scientist in the Department of Health Sciences at the University of York and Hull York Medical School, said, "People with mental disorders die on average 10 to 20 years earlier than the general population, and smoking is the main factor in this shocking difference.
"Our results show that smokers with severe mental illness can successfully quit when they receive appropriate support, and we hope our results will help ensure that this specialized support is available to all." those who could benefit. "
The long-term NHS plan published in January is committed to developing a dedicated support channel to help long-term users of mental health services quit smoking. The Partnership for Mental Health and Smoking recommends that the lessons learned from this study be incorporated into current practices at the national level.
Life expectancy
Professor Tim Kendall, National Clinical Director for Mental Health at NHS England, said: "This exciting new research will help inform our work to implement the NHS Long-Term Plan and provide the best possible support for smokers. suffering from mental disorders.
"Reducing the gap in life expectancy of people with mental health problems should be a priority for all those working in the NHS and helping smokers to quit smoking is an essential means of reach."
Ann McNeill, Professor of Addiction at King & # 39; s College London and Co-Chair of the Partnership on Mental Health and Smoking, said, "The Mental Health and Tobacco Partnership welcomes the findings of this study. suffering from serious mental illness have been ignored for too long long – and it's fantastic to see this change.
"We hope that NHS England will take these results into account when implementing the NHS long-term plan.Most smokers with a mental health problem live in the community.If we want to reduce 39, gap in life expectancy, SCIMITAR shows how this can be done effectively. "
The research is published in Lancet Psychiatry and was funded by the National Institute of Health Research (NIHR). Professor Simon Gilbody is Director of the MHARG Research Group on Mental Health and Addiction (MHARG) of the University of York and Chief Investigator of the SCIMITAR + Study. The other collaborators are the universities of Manchester, Leeds, UCL and Sheffield.
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Material provided by York University. Note: Content can be changed for style and length.
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