Ellen T. Gerrity

Bronchial Provocation Tests before and after Cessation of Smoking

We studied the effect of smoking cessation on airway reactivity. We recruited cigarette smokers who were attempting to stop smoking. Entry criteria required each subject to be smoking at least 10 cigarettes each day and report a chronic cough. Exclusion criteria included significant airflow obstruction or the presence of any medical condition contraindicating challenge testing. Carbachol challenge was performed to assess airway reactivity according to a standardized method. Baseline measurements of forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1), specific airway conductance (SGaw) and the provocative dose of carbachol causing a 35% reduction in SGaw (PD35), and a 20% reduction in FEV1 (PD20) were established on entry while each subject was still smoking. Thereafter, repeat measurements were performed after 2 and 6 months of smoking cessation. Adherence to smoking cessation was checked by self-report and verified by measurement of alveolar carbon monoxide levels at each session. Of the 34 subjects who gave consent, 13 relapsed prior to the 2nd month and an additional 8 relapsed before the 6th month. Thirteen of the 34 remained abstinent throughout the 6-month study. All 13 subjects had complete resolution of their cough. The difference in reactivity on entry to that at the 2nd and 6th month was not significant. We conclude that (1) the symptom of chronic cough resolved completely after 2 months of smoking cessation, and (2) airway reactivity remained unchanged at 2 and 6 months of smoking cessation.

Perceived Helpfulness of Messages on a Community-Based Telephone Support Service for Ex-Smokers

Callers to a community-based telephone support service for ex-smokers evaluated the perceived helpfulness of six categories of taped messages. These categories were: behavioral coping, cognitive coping, negative health, positive health, informational, and supportive. Supportive messages were rated as significantly more helpful than negative health, informational, and behavioral coping. The implications of these findings are discussed.

Beyond Institutional Betrayal: When the Professional Is Personal

Gerrity offers a personal reflection and an analysis of the institutional role of the American Psychological Association (APA) in US torture policy and its implementation. Providing an indictment of the APA’s betrayal of bedrock principles against psychological harm, and a personal meditation on the choices we face as individuals and members of institutions in standing against torture, Gerrity situates her analysis of the APA’s actions in a larger institutional context of psychological and medical professionals and organizations. Faced with the APA’s intransigence, she bears witness to the significance of alliances with survivors and other health professionals who refuse complicity with the security concerns of the state that, as her essay demonstrates, can lead so easily to specious justifications for torture and legitimations of the role of a range of professionals in its perpetration.