Stress, depression, sleep problems and unmet social needs: Baseline characteristics of low-income smokers in a randomized cessation trial

Identifying at-risk individuals for diseases of despair through integration of clinical practice and social service systems

“…With operations 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and a highly-qualified workforce, 211 helplines across the country can play a larger role reaching out to vulnerable segments of the population and connect them with evidence-based programs to address diseases of despairrelated behaviors. Alcohol and/or drug use 110 (16) Suicidal thoughts or attempt 48 (7) Flu vaccine 122 (18) Caller refused referral 425 (61) Note: 1 N=1047; callers could be identified as being at risk for more than one health issue. 2 N=690; callers could be referred to more than one service.…”

“…Callers speak with trained resource navigators that identify the caller's needs, search a database to find local resources, and provide referrals to help callers contact service providers [17]. The 211 helpline has been used to connect callers with underutilized health services such as smoking cessation programs [18,19], vaccination [20], and cancer screening [21,22]. Despite the helpline reach, utilization of the 211 to screen callers for diseases of despair-related behaviors and connection with needed health referrals has not previously been evaluated.…”

Low housing quality, unmet social needs, stress and depression among low-income smokers

“…Sum scores range from 0 to 6 with higher scores indicating lower quality sleep. We dichotomized sleep scores using a cut point of ≥ 4 based on mean sleep scores from a similar population of low-income smokers; sleep scores of 4 or higher generally indicate very or fairly bad sleep quality and/or trouble sleeping multiple times a week ( Garg et al, 2021 ). A single item assessed self-rated health (excellent/very good/good/fair/poor).…”

Examining trends in health care access measures among low-income adult smokers in Ohio: 2012–2019

“…( Andersen, 1995 ) However, it is known that cigarette smokers have lower access and face more frequent barriers to health care services than non-smokers. For example, smokers are less likely to have a usual source of care (USC) ( Kiefe et al, 1998 , Garg et al, 2021 )—a medical professional or setting where an individual routinely seeks health services when ill or in need of health consultation. Smokers are also more likely to report unmet dental ( DiGiulio, 2016 , American Lung Association,2020 ) and mental health ( Iyer et al, 2019 ) needs.…”