Professor Billie Bonevski Research Fellow, University of Newcastle, Calvary Mater Hospital, Australia
Abstract
Reports suggest that up to 77-95% of clients receiving treatment for drug and alcohol dependencies smoke tobacco. Studies suggest that smokers receiving treatment for other drug abuse are interested in quitting and are able to quit, but that factors relating to the treatment settings influence continued smoking. Treatment and support for tobacco is rarely provided systematically in the Australian drug and alcohol treatment setting. Systems change strategies which have the potential to integrate tobacco treatment within the drug and alcohol treatment centre show great promise at increasing provision of smoking cessation support.
This study aims to examine the effectiveness of a systems change intervention at reducing smoking rates amongst clients attending drug and alcohol treatment centres using a national, multi-centre, cluster randomised controlled trial study design. Drug and alcohol treatment centres will be the unit of randomisation and (biochemically verified) client 7-day point prevalence smoking cessation at 6 months will be the primary outcome measure.
The study will be conducted in 30 government and non-government drug and alcohol treatment centres in NSW, Victoria, Queensland. Treatment centres receiving the intervention will participate in an innovative systems change intervention aimed at changing organisational systems to improve the delivery of smoking cessation care and treatment to clients to assist them to stop smoking. This presentation will outline the development and main components of the systems change intervention.
Source of funding: National Health & Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Project Grant APP1045840
