Addiction Rehab: Evaluation of a Programme to Increase Referrals to Stop-Smoking Services Using Children’s Centres and Smoke-Free Families Schemes.
Evaluation of a programme to increase referrals to stop-smoking services using Children’s Centres and smoke-free families schemes.
Filed under: Addiction Rehab
Addiction. 2012 Dec; 107 Suppl 2: 8-17
McEwen A, Hackshaw L, Jones L, Laverty L, Amos A, Robinson J
To assess the feasibility and effectiveness of a new service using referral liaison advisers to increase the number of referrals of parents/carers at selected Children’s Centres to National Health Service (NHS) Stop Smoking Services (SSS) and/or smoke-free families schemes (SFS).This mixed-methods pilot study collected numerical data on indicators of smoking behaviours and carried out face-to-face and telephone interviews.Thirteen Children’s Centres in Liverpool and Nottingham using local providers of smoking cessation services, from September 2010 to April 2011.Parents and carers registered with, and staff working for, Children’s Centres.Number of smokers referred to smoking cessation services and/or smoke-free family schemes and the views of service providers and users on the new service.In Liverpool, 181 referrals to NHS SSS were made from 331 identified smokers (54.7%); extrapolated to 12 months, this represents a 182% increase in referrals from baseline and a similar extrapolation indicates a 643% increase from baseline of referrals to smoke-free families schemes. There were no reliable baseline data for Nottingham; 31 referrals were made (30.7% of smokers) to SSS and 44 referrals to SFS from 52 contacts (84.6%). The interviews highlighted the need for sustained personal contact with parents/carers to discuss smoking behaviours and concerns and their willingness to be referred to SFS as part of caring for their child.Routine recording of smoking status and appropriate follow-up by trained staff in Children’s Centres can lead to significant numbers of clients attending stop-smoking services, although relatively few stop smoking.
HubMed – addiction
Developing the evidence base for addressing inequalities and smoking in the United Kingdom.
Filed under: Addiction Rehab
Addiction. 2012 Dec; 107 Suppl 2: 1-7
McNeill A, Amos A, McEwen A, Ferguson J, Croghan E
Smoking is an increasing cause of health inequalities in high-income countries. This supplement describes pilot projects set up in England to develop and test pathways to ensure that disadvantaged groups, where smoking is frequently the norm, are reached, encouraged and supported to stop their tobacco use. Target groups were: smokers attending centres set up for highly deprived parents; smokers with serious and enduring mental illness; pregnant smokers; prisoners/other offenders who smoked; South Asian tobacco chewers; and recent quitters from ‘routine and manual’ occupational groups.Commonalities observed across the six projects are summarized, alongside recommendations for implementation.A significant barrier to implementation was the lack of mandatory identification of tobacco users across primary, secondary and community health-care settings and routine use of expired air carbon monoxide monitoring, particularly for high-risk groups. Appropriate use of financial incentives and national guidance is probably necessary to achieve both this and the adoption of ‘joined-up’ tobacco dependence treatment pathways for these target groups. Further research is needed on the impact of ‘opt out’ pathways: while resulting in increased referral rates, success rates were lower. In general, smoking cessation service targets were a barrier to implementation. Flexibility and tailoring of interventions were required and most projects trained those already working in relevant settings, given their greater understanding of target groups. Mandatory training of all frontline health-care staff was deemed desirable.Implementing the findings of these projects will require resources, for training, incentivizing health-care workers and further research. However, continuing with the status quo may result in sustained tobacco use health inequalities for the foreseeable future.
HubMed – addiction
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