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Relapse prevention in
UK stop smoking services
Shade Agboola, Research Associate, School of Community Health Sciences,
Queens Medical Centre, University of Nottingham, UK
Abstract
Background:
NHS Stop Smoking Services provide cost effective smoking cessation interventions but, as yet, there has been no assessment of their provision of relapse prevention interventions (RPIs).
Objectives:
To elicit smoking cessation advisors experiences of providing RPIs in their services and which types. To ascertain barriers to the trialing or introduction of RPIs within current
clinical practice.
Design:
Qualitative, semi-structured interview study
Participants:
16 smoking cessation advisers from UK smoking cessation services.
Findings:
Advisors had diverse perceptions of relapse prevention as a concept with interventions often being delivered to relapsed smokers. Current support was predominantly an extension of acute phase treatment, or in the form of rolling groups which the client was encouraged to attend after completion of acute phase treatment. The most commonly identified barriers to the introduction of RPIs were funding, low uptake of RPIs by smokers and Department of Health targets. Pharmacotherapy was the preferred option for RPIs, with proactive telephone counselling the least favoured.
Conclusions:
There is currently no shared understanding of the concept of relapse prevention. There is need for effective RPIs which are attractive to smokers and feasible for the services.
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About the presenter
Shade Agboola is a medically qualified researcher with a Masters in Public Health and she is currently working on the Health Technology Assessment Smoking Relapse Prevention Project.
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