Tobacco cessation mobile lab will be a feature at HEALTHfest

Research geared toward improving treatments for teenage smokers will be a feature at HEALTHfest, which will be held at O'Bleness Memorial Hospital, Saturday, Oct. 10, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. A mobile research laboratory from the Center for Biobehavioral Health in the Research Institute at Nationwide Children's Hospital will be present at HEALTHfest.

Principal investigator Brady Reynolds, Ph.D., developed a research lab on wheels in order to broaden the scope of research by including rural areas. The mobile lab is fully equipped to conduct studies in areas where it is difficult to recruit participants, according to a press release, according to a news release.

Reynolds is a developmental psychologist with research interests that include how impulsive behavior is related to cigarette smoking among adolescents. His interests also include the development and evaluation of smoking-cessation programs oriented toward youth.

In an effort to improve the health and health care of children, adolescents and their families, Reynolds travels to target populations with his specially designed lab. Every aspect of the lab was carefully designed and strategically planned to utilize space and protect participant privacy. The mobile facility includes three computer stations for participants to complete specially designed research tasks, a private interview room used for one-on-one data collection, an awning for research conducted outside the unit, and a private bathroom with facilities for collecting urine specimens. Reynolds began his on-the-road research in Ohio's Appalachian region last January.

In the release, Reynolds said that while the mobile lab is at O'Bleness, he will recruit research participants for studies related to cigarette smoking. "One of the studies, for example, is a new experimental treatment for teen smoking that the teen smoker can complete from home," Reynolds said in the release. "People can also come into the mobile lab to see the facilities, engage in interactive activities and watch informational videos. We will also have a breath carbon-monoxide detector that people can use to measure their breath carbon-monoxide level, which is elevated by cigarette smoking."

Reynolds added that the research is funded by the National Institutes of Health and is designed to reduce smoking among adolescents. He said in the news release that he also will recruit a part-time person to work from home to help implement teen smoking cessation programs in the schools in Athens and Meigs counties.

In addition to the mobile lab, other activities at HEALTHfest include a number of free health screenings, including fall risk screening; blood pressure and glucose tests; and impedance cardiography (ICG) tests, which measures heart rate, amount of blood ejected per minute and range of fluid in the chest. Certificates for a limited number of lipid panel tests will also be available (measures complete cholesterol, HDL and LDL cholesterol and triglycerides). A number of health-care experts will be present, including dermatologist Dawn Sammons, D.O., who will share information about sun damage and proper skin care and cardiologist Vipin Koshal, D.O., who will lead tours of O'Bleness catheterization laboratory. Displays will also include ground and air ambulances.

For more information about HEALTHfest activities, contact O'Bleness' Community Relations Department at (740) 566-4814.