Dr JJ Kerssens Senior Information Analyst, Information Services Division (ISD) NHS National Services Scotland.
Author: Cheryl Denny, Principal Information Analyst, Information Services Division (ISD) NHS National Services Scotland.
Author: Professor Linda Bauld, Professor of Socio-Management, School of Management, University of Stirling and UKCTCS.
Presenter(s)
Dr Jan Kerssens Senior Information Analyst, Information Services Division (ISD), NHS National Services Scotland
Abstract
Scottish smoking cessation services (SCS) place a particular emphasis on aiming to reach smokers from target groups in the population, in particular people living in more disadvantaged communities or from lower income groups, and also pregnant women and, in some cases, younger smokers. We aimed to determine the reach of the services for these groups of clients.
Service reach to target groups is difficult to obtain when information about the size of these groups in local areas is absent or hard to come by. We tried to overcome this difficulty by estimating reach through calculating indirectly Standardised Rates for several types of interventions delivered by cessation services. These included pharmacy setting, group support, the provision of combination NRT, and Varenicline for each of the 40 SCS.
Overall, smoking cessation services in Scotland are effectively reaching disadvantaged groups, although in some areas pharmacy-based provision was not as successful in targeting these groups. In contrast, services delivered in pharmacies were more successful at reaching young people than other interventions.
Using Standardised Rates for smoking cessation interventions seems to offer a useful frame work for analysing service reach and should be the focus of future research.
Source of funding: SHEFCE through the Scottish School of Public Health
