Improving Health for Aboriginal People Through Tobacco Related Research

"Initially, ten focus groups with an average sample size of 5-7 participants each will be performed in two communities within South Australia, one being Adelaide and the other Murray Bridge, this includes focus groups held with healthcare workers.~The proposed focus groups will be conducted by experienced mediators who have undertaken Aboriginal cultural awareness training and have experience in qualitative research methods. Both mediators have also been involved in all aspects of project development and consultation with Aboriginal Elders and key stakeholders since its conception.~We will be using topic guides (reviewed by Aboriginal Elders and researchers) that will be semi-structured with open-ended questions designed to encourage group discussion around smoking cessation and the use of pharmacotherapies in particular, in addition to other objectives identified during the consultation phase of this research."

One-on- one interviews will be held with both medical clinicians and key stakeholders and will be conducted by existing TQEH (The Queen Elizabeth Hospital), Clinical Practice Unit employees, experienced in qualitative research. Informed consent will be required and the interview will be audio taped to allow analysis of the qualitative data. All interviews will remain anonymous, unless the interviewee prefers to be named. In this case, they will be named in the acknowledgement section of all publications and presentations. Moderator guides have been developed and reviewed in the same process undergone by the focus group moderator guides

A four page survey will be administered to all focus group and interview participants in addition to select cohorts including tobacco related special interest groups of the Thoracic Society of Australia and New Zealand (TSANZ). The survey will include demographic data, smoking history and current smoking status (questions related to smoking for current tobacco users include the Fagerstrom test for nicotine dependence, multiple Likert scales for cravings, motivation to quit, confidence etc.) and Likert scales examining perceptions, attitudes and knowledge about tobacco use, cessation, prevention, health and research in the Aboriginal setting.