Smoking prevalence is high (up to 60%) in patients with psychosis or mood disorders and treatment for smoking addiction is hardly provided in psychiatric care nor are patients referred to other health care providers for smoking cessation treatment. Major health benefits can be achieved when quitting smoking, both physical and mental. After the phase of withdrawal, patients with psychosis show a decrease in stress and anxiety and better quality of life.
The aim of INSIST is to evaluate the implementation of smoking cessation treatment for patients with severe mental illness, namely psychosis and mood disorders. This is a prospective multicenter implementation study in the Netherlands (Amsterdam UMC, UMCU, UMCG, GGZ inGeest and GGZ Centraal). We aim to include 115 patients, who are at least 16 years old and receiving treatment in one of the participating centers. Treatment consists cognitive behavioral therapy via phone or videocall in combination with pharmacotherapy for smoking cessation.
Implementation consists of a training of professionals on very brief advice plus and pharmacotherapy as well as a clear infrastructure for mental health care professionals who refer for smoking cessation treatment. Evaluation of implementation will be performed by using the RE-AIM framework, which focusses on the five dimensions: Reach, Effectiveness, Acceptance, Implementation and Maintenance. Descriptive statistics will be used for presenting quantitative measures and qualitative research will be performed on both patients and health care professionals.
With this implementation study we hope to bridge a gap by integration of treating addiction to smoking into regular psychiatric practice for patients with severe mental illness.