Tackshs

This WP examines the efficacy of using personalised air quality measurements in homes of smokers to encourage behaviour-change towards having a smoke-free home environment. Building on recent quantitative and qualitative work from the WP Leader showing that feedback of second-hand tobacco smoke (SHS) measurement information can help motivate smokers, this WP develops a targeted intervention for use with socio-economically deprived, hard-to-reach smokers in five countries (Scotland, Spain, Greece, Italy) across the EU. Working with local tobacco control professionals and Third-Sector groups, 200 smokers will be recruited and offered low-cost, simple to operate particle-counting instruments to measure and log SHS levels in their home/car for periods of one month. Personalised feedback will be provided to and discussed with the smoker along with target setting and exploration of suitable methods of behaviour-change. Repeat measurements will be undertaken approximately one-month later to determine if change has been made and to quantify the magnitude of any SHS concentration reductions.

This WP will provide a comprehensive database of baseline measurements of SHS concentrations in home settings from across the EU with the potential to generate nearly 2 million minutes of measurements prior to the intervention and a similar amount post intervention.

WP4 will produce a peer reviewed scientific paper describing the results of the intervention, its potential applicability across different communities of smokers in the EU and identification of any particular barriers to use in specific settings.

WP4 is proposal and initial stage of the study was developed by  managed by the University of Aberdeen and curently the same team is working on the study at the University of Stirling.