A qualitative exploration of smokers' views regarding aspects of a community-based mobile stop smoking service in the United Kingdom

Manpreet Bains,Ann Mcneill,Andrea Venn,Rachael L Murray,Laura L Jones

doi:10.1186/1471-2458-11-873

Abstract

BackgroundDeveloping more accessible stop smoking services (SSS) is important, particularly for reaching smokers from socio-economically deprived groups who are more likely to smoke and less likely to quit in comparison to their more affluent counterparts. A drop-in mobile SSS (MSSS) was piloted across 13 locations in socio-economically deprived areas of Nottingham.MethodsSemi-structured telephone interviews were conducted to explore the views of 40 smokers who registered with the MSSS.ResultsThe MSSS appeared to trigger quit attempts. For some of the participants the attempt was totally unplanned; for others, it built on pre-existing thoughts about quitting which had not yet been acted upon. Smokers interested in quitting were comfortable about approaching the MSSS, whilst acknowledging that they did not feel pressured to register with the service. The drop-in format of the MSSS was found to be more appealing than making an appointment. In addition, several participants articulated that they may not have utilised other SSS had they not come across the MSSS.ConclusionsA MSSS may be an effective way to prompt quit attempts for smokers not planning to quit and also reach smokers who would not engage with SSS.

Highlights

Developing more accessible stop smoking services (SSS) is important, for reaching smokers from socio-economically deprived groups who are more likely to smoke and less likely to quit in comparison to their more affluent counterparts
mobile SSS (MSSS) triggering quit attempts The MSSS seemed to trigger quit attempts for a number of participants: for some of these participants the quit attempt was totally unplanned; for others it built on pre-existing thoughts about quitting
These individuals indicated that after seeing the MSSS, seemingly by chance, they decided almost instantly that they wished to cease smoking (2a, b). It seemed that they had thought about quitting previously and that seeing the MSSS had served as a trigger and provided the ideal opportunity to engage with the service (2c)

Summary

Introduction

Developing more accessible stop smoking services (SSS) is important, for reaching smokers from socio-economically deprived groups who are more likely to smoke and less likely to quit in comparison to their more affluent counterparts. In the United Kingdom (UK), the association between smoking prevalence and social disadvantage is well documented. Adults from socio-economically deprived groups and/or areas, as determined by level of education, housing tenure, social class and income level, are more likely to smoke and less likely to quit when compared to their more affluent counterparts [1]. Smoking remains a significant contributor to health inequalities; for example, it is the main factor associated with higher death rates in the manual as compared with the non-manual occupation group [5]. Efforts to increase engagement of smokers from less affluent socio-economic groups are a priority for Public Health [7,8]

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Discussion

Conclusion