TRANSformá Tu Salud: Feasibility, Acceptability, and Preliminary Impact of a Culturally Adapted Smoking Cessation Intervention for Transgender and Gender-Diverse Individuals Living in Argentina

INTRODUCTION: This single-arm pilot study aimed to assess the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary impact of TRANSformá tu salud, a culturally adapted smoking cessation intervention for transgender and gender diverse (TGD) individuals living in Argentina. METHODS: Forty TGD individuals who smoked received TRANSformá tu Salud, which consisted of two components: (1) a 3-month instant messaging intervention delivered via WhatsApp that allowed longitudinal and bidirectional text, image, video, and voice messages; and (2) the provision of nicotine patches at no cost. Feasibility was measured by the enrollment and follow-up rates. Acceptability was measured by satisfaction with the intervention and whether they would recommend the intervention to other TGD individuals. Preliminary impact was measured by self-reported and biochemically verified abstinence rates, nicotine patch use, and changes in self-efficacy for smoking abstinence between baseline and follow-up assessments. RESULTS: Forty TGD individuals were enrolled, and 37 (92.5%) completed the follow-up assessment at Month 3. Eleven participants (27.5%, 11/40) self-reported 7-day smoking abstinence. Five participants (12.5%, 5/40) were biochemically verified abstinent. Almost all participants (94.6%, 35/37) reported using the nicotine patches for at least one day. Mean self-efficacy scores significantly increased from 16.76 (SD 7.12) at baseline to 25.38 (SD 8.75) at Month 3 (p < .001). Most participants (77.7%, 28/36) were satisfied/extremely satisfied with the intervention. Almost all participants (94.4%, 34/36) reported that they would recommend the intervention to other TGD individuals. CONCLUSIONS: It is feasible to recruit and retain TGD individuals. TRANSformá tu salud is acceptable and holds promising preliminary impact. Additional testing in a randomized clinical trial is warranted to assess the efficacy of the intervention. IMPLICATIONS: To our knowledge, this is the first smoking cessation study in the world that purposely focuses on transgender and gender diverse (TGD) individuals. Our study shows that it is feasible to recruit and retain TGD individuals in a smoking cessation study. TRANSformá tu salud, a culturally adapted smoking cessation intervention for TGD individuals living in Argentina, is acceptable and holds promising preliminary impact. Additional testing in a randomized clinical trial is warranted to assess the efficacy of the intervention.