Community pharmacists helping rural Appalachia quit smoking
Official title: Leveraging Community Pharmacists to Optimize Smoking Cessation Services for Rural Smokers in Appalachia
Funded at University of Virginia · NIH-11330162 · Data updated 2026-11-12
A real-world study tests using local pharmacists to deliver a Medicaid-style medication-management approach to help rural smokers in Appalachia quit and stay quit.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of Virginia NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Charlottesville, United States) |
| Project start | September 8, 2022 |
| Project end | May 31, 2028 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $1,017,423 |
| NIH project number | 5R01CA267963-04 |
| Project ID | NIH-11330162 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Adults in rural Appalachia who smoke and are interested in quitting, receiving care through participating community pharmacies.
✕Less likely to help
Smokers not engaging with pharmacists or those unwilling to use cessation medications may see limited benefit.
What this research studies
This project partners with community pharmacists in rural Appalachia to deliver a structured QuitAid program, aiming to integrate smoking-cessation support into routine primary care visits. Pharmacists use medication therapy management strategies to support adherence to cessation aids and to bill for their counseling time, making the service sustainable in underserved communities. The study uses a pragmatic design to see how well this pharmacist-led approach works in everyday clinic settings and how it can be adopted in similar rural areas. Outcomes include quit rates, adherence to cessation medications, and implementation metrics such as adoption by pharmacies and reimbursement processes.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, patients in rural Appalachia could access more convenient, pharmacist-led support to quit smoking and reduce cancer risk.
How similar studies have gone: Prior pharmacist-led cessation approaches show promise, but this pragmatic program tests scalable real-world deployment in a high-need region.
Where this research is happening
-
University of Virginia
Charlottesville, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Little, Melissa Ashley — University of Virginia
- Study coordinator: Little, Melissa Ashley
Related research
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Peer-led smoking-cessation program for public housing residents
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About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.