Krebs 2018.

Study characteristics
Methods	Study design: secondary analysis of RCT Country: USA Data collection period: not stated Registry ID: not reported
Participants	Number of participants: N = 577; Number included in meta‐analysis: N = 577 Sample characteristics (at baseline): Age (mean): VA counselling 53.8 years (SD 12.2), Quitline 53.6 years (SD 11.7); Sex (% male): VA counselling 91.8% (248/270), Quitline 92.5% (284/307) Population category: psychiatric population; Specific population: veterans with mental health conditions Nicotine dependence: time to first cigarette ≤ 5 min – VA counselling 36.6%, Quitline 30.8%; Baseline cigarettes per day: VA counselling 17.5 (SD 12.1), Quitline 14.9 (SD 10.5); Motivation to quit: selected by motivation to quit
Interventions	Behavioural support for smoking cessation: all enrolled participants received mailed self‐help materials (provided brief advice on preparing to quit smoking, setting a quit date, preventing relapse and corrective information on common myths about smoking among persons with mental health diagnosis) and smoking cessation medications, unless they declined or contraindications noted. Booklet’s imagery was tailored for veteran mental health using military personnel images. Participants randomly assigned to A) VA counselling based on a structured counselling protocol created specifically for the study, the content was based on Motivational Interviewing and Problem Solving Therapy and protocol allowed for up to 10 calls, comprising either planning (pre‐quit) and follow‐up (post‐quit) sessions at 0, 1, 3, 7, 14, 21, and 30 days after their quit date ‐ addressed both behavioural and cognitive issues, including motivation, self‐efficacy, difficult situations, comorbid mental health symptoms, coping strategies, medication usage, and relapse prevention; or B) Quitline counselling where a research assistant initiated a “warm transfer” of the participant to their Quitline via a 3‐way call to start the counselling process after which study personnel were not involved in any aspect of the Quitline counselling ‐ Quitlines followed their regular service protocols, which depending on the Veteran’s state, ranged from 1 ‐ 6 sessions Pharmacological support for smoking cessation: all enrolled participants received smoking cessation medications, unless they declined or had contraindications noted by their referring provider Psychotherapeutic or psychoactive support for mental health or mood: received mood management – the content of VA counselling “addressed both behavioural and cognitive issues including…comorbid mental health symptoms”; booklet also provided corrective information on 5 common myths about smoking among persons with a mental health diagnosis
Outcomes	Definition of cessation used: self‐reported abstinence (smoked even a puff) in the past 30 days assessed at 2 and 6 months from enrolment Cessation definition used for outcome(s) in this analysis: prolonged abstinence Measure of biovalidation: not bioverified Definition of people who continued to smoke used: exact definition not reported; self‐reported non‐abstinence Time point(s) at which follow‐up was conducted: 2 and 6 months from enrolment Outcome category: Depression, Psychological Quality of Life (QoL), Social Outcome Outcome measure(s): Behaviour and Symptom Identification Scale 24‐item (BASIS‐24; depression/function, emotional lability and interpersonal relationships subscales)
Funding source	The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This material is based upon work supported by the Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration, Office of Research and Development, and Health Services Research and Development, grant #SDP 07‐034
Author conflicts of interest	The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article
Notes	Outcome data source: Published data