# Quit4Life+: Adapting and Evaluating a Phone-Based Tobacco Use Cessation Program for People Living with HIV in Uganda and Zambia

> **NIH NIH U01** · UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA · 2022 · $677,035

## Abstract

Project Summary/Abstract
While AIDS-related morbidity and mortality among people living with HIV (PLWH) have decreased with the
introduction of combination antiviral therapy (ART), HIV continues to kill nearly 1 million people annually, the
majority of whom live in sub-Saharan Africa. Tobacco use among PLWH contributes substantially to the HIV
burden, with nearly a quarter of AIDS-related deaths attributable to smoking. While there is substantial
evidence supporting interventions to help tobacco users in the general population quit, little is available
relevant to the challenges facing HIV+ tobacco users, especially those living in low-income African countries,
including higher rates of depressive symptoms, greater use of alcohol and illegal substances, lack of
awareness about tobacco’s effects on HIV treatment, and social isolation resulting from HIV stigma. We
approach this gap with the first randomized control trial (RCT) to test the efficacy of a tailored short message
service (SMS) based tobacco use cessation intervention on prolonged tobacco use abstinence at 6 months
post program initiation in comparison to the standard of care (brief advice to quit) and nicotine replacement
therapy (nicotine patches) among PLWH in Uganda and Zambia. Our study will provide insight into the
efficacy, feasibility, applicability, and affordability of delivering tobacco cessation interventions through health
care professionals at HIV treatment centers in two countries with different tobacco use patterns, policy
environments, and health care resources and provide needed information to providers and policymakers
looking for cost-effective tobacco cessation interventions. The previously tested SMS-platform to be used in
our study is uniquely positioned to be scaled in low- and middle-income countries worldwide, in which case
rigorous research showing even modest success in reducing the prevalence of tobacco consumption among
PLWH could confer enormous health and economic benefits. The primary partners in the study include the
Center for Tobacco Control in Africa at the Makerere University School of Public Health, the Keck School of
Medicine of USC; and the RAND Corporation; with technical support from the World Health Organization.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10489368
- **Project number:** 5U01CA261624-02
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
- **Principal Investigator:** Heather L Wipfli
- **Activity code:** U01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $677,035
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2021-09-15 → 2026-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10489368

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10489368, Quit4Life+: Adapting and Evaluating a Phone-Based Tobacco Use Cessation Program for People Living with HIV in Uganda and Zambia (5U01CA261624-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10489368. Licensed CC0.

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