UW-CTRI: Students Make Progress on TTURC Mini-Grant Projects

Researchers > Understanding Tobacco Dependence and Its Treatment

Students Make Progress on TTURC Mini-Grant Projects

UW-CTRI students Erin TerBeek, Karla Loftus and Julia Alexander received TTURC 2 mini-grants last fall and have completed a large portion of their research, under the guidance of UW-CTRI staff. This spring they're wrapping up surveys and interviews, analyzing data and writing papers in the next few weeks.

TerBeek, a student at UW-Milwaukee, has been studying factors that influence retention of quitting habits in coordination with the Wisconsin Smokers’ Health Study. TerBeek, who is collaborating with Bruce Christiansen on the project, said she has been refining protocol since August and, though she is close to submitting her information to the Institutional Review Board (IRB), said she still has a lot to do. “Right now, I’m mailing out a survey to get a better idea of what influenced [smokers] to come into the clinic for multiple visits,” TerBeek said.

After this part of the research is complete, TerBeek plans to analyze her data, write a final report and circulate the results to help shape future studies. “[The results] will be used to help design studies and improve services at UW-CTRI,” she said. “It will help researchers understand who comes in for help and why, what is important to those seeking help, and will hopefully make our studies and services more applicable to what people are looking for.”

TerBeek said she’s pleased with how the study has turned out, noting that it was initially focused on studying avenues of tobacco dependence. “The original idea changes a lot in research,” she said. “You learn so much as you go along; especially when you are asking people questions and getting feedback. I’m just happy to have the opportunity to do this; it has been so valuable to me, especially as I go on to grad school.”

Like TerBeek, UW-Madison students Loftus and Alexander consider the mini-grant to be a great experience. The pair is focusing on how college students’ attitudes and behaviors toward smoking is influenced by the presence of parental smoking. With help from Megan Piper and Doug Jorenby, Loftus and Alexander have found that past or current parental smoking makes students more likely to smoke, either socially or consistently.

Karla Loftus, UW-CTRI Student

Julia Alexander

Top to bottom: UW-CTRI student researchers Karla Loftus, Julia Alexander and Erin TerBeek are using TTURC mini-grants to fuel research on tobacco treatment.

“The majority of the students [we surveyed] who smoke are social smokers,” Alexander said. “And out of a sample of 194 students, only two smoked consistently.”

Alexander also noted that most students were knowledgeable about the dangers associated with smoking, regardless of their own smoking behaviors. “The population we’re testing is educated. They know what risks they are taking.”

The pair is gearing up to analyze data, re-evaluate their hypothesis and begin the write-up process. “I expect our work to show the importance of parental role modeling for kids,” Loftus said.