Jonathan Watson

Effectiveness of antismoking telephone helpline: follow up survey.

Abstract Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness of an antismoking campaign conducted by the Health Education Board for Scotland. Design: Descriptive survey of adult callers to a telephone helpline (Smokeline) for stopping smoking; panel study of a random sample of adult callers; assessment of changes in prevalence of smoking in Scotland before and after introduction of the helpline Setting: Telephone helpline. Subjects: Callers to Smokeline over the initial one year period. Detailed information was collected on a 10% sample (n=8547). A cohort of adult smokers who called Smokeline (total n=848) was followed up by telephone interview three weeks, six months, and one year after the initial call. Main outcome measures: Numbers of adult smokers calling helpline; changes in smoking behaviour, especially stopping smoking among cohort members; and changes in prevalence of smoking in the general population. Results: An estimated 82 782 regular adult smokers made genuine contact with Smokeline over the year, representing about 5.9% of all adult smokers in Scotland. At one year 143 of the cohort of 848 callers (23.6%; 95% confidence interval 20.2% to 27.0%) reported that they had stopped smoking, and 534 (88.0%; 85.4% to 90.6%) reported having made some change. About 19 500 (16 700 to 22 350) adult smokers, equivalent to 1.4% (1.2% to 1.6%) of the mean adult smoking population, stopped smoking with direct help from Smokeline. During the second year of the campaign (1994) smoking prevalence among 25-65 year olds in Scotland was 6% (2.0% to 10.0%) lower than it had been before the start of the campaign. Conclusion: The Health Education Board for Scotlands antismoking campaign reached a high number of adult smokers, was associated with a highly acceptable quit rate among adults given direct help through Smokeline, and contributed considerably to an accelerated decline in smoking prevalence in Scotland. Key messages There was an unprecedented response to the antismoking campaign of the Health Education Board for Scotland, with an estimated 5.9% of adult smokers in Scotland responding to the invitation to call Smokeline, a free telephone helpline, in its first year of operation A panel study of callers to Smokeline, with telephone interviewing, obtained an acceptable response rate of 71.6% at one year follow up Nearly a quarter (23.6%) of smokers who called the helpline were not smoking at the one year follow up, a success rate that exceeds a proposed standard for comparable health education and promotion interventions The Smokeline campaign contributed considerably to an accelerated (6%) reduction in smoking among people aged 25-65 in Scotland during 1992-4 The study findings provide further evidence of the efficacy of mass media antismoking initiatives with a social support component

Young men, masculinity and alcohol

Over the last ten years we have witnessed a great increase in writing on the nature of masculinity and the development of the concept of multiple masculinities, but much of this material has been speculative and highly theoretical. The related work linking masculinities to alcohol has often had a psychometric slant. The current paper aims to show the wider relevance of new theoretical ideas on masculinities to alcohol consumption among young men. Specifically: to describe the social context of drinking and drunkenness among a sample of young men living in Greater Glasgow, and to analyse the masculine role component of such contemporary drinking cultures. A qualitative methodology was used. Ten focus groups and twelve in-depth ‘life-trajectory’ interviews were completed. Respondents were aged between 16 and 24 years. We discovered that the social context of male drinking is changing very rapidly and masculinities are being redefined. While there remains some evidence of traditional masculine drinking norms and alcohol use, the increasing diversity of drinking locations and alcohol products are instrumental in achieving new expressions of male identity among young men.

Researching Health Promotion

Providing a critical review of the current state of health promotion research. This book re-conceptualises the field of health promotion as collaborative and integrating enterprise, rather than as a battlefield for disciplinary and intellectual clashes. It makes a significant contribution to ongoing epistemological, theoretical and methodological debates in health promotion research. With contributors from Sweden, Switzerland, Denmark, Ireland, the UK and the US, Researching Health Promotion will be of interest to students and professionals working in health promotion, public health, medicine and health policy.

Drug Education: Approaches, effectiveness and delivery

Considerable drug education activity has taken place over recent years. Yet the use of illicit drugs appears to be increasingly accepted by young users and non-users alike as an integral part of youth culture. There is a need to avoid dogmatic approaches to drug education by not placing undue reliance on any single approach. Moreover, several theoretical and empirical factors need, to be considered in developing and implementing interventions; including developmental factors, mismatches between theory and practice, the cultural meanings of drug use and targeting of interventions; as well as reappraising the putative role of peer pressure and self-esteem deficits. Failure to understand and address the role of such factors impairs the effectiveness of interventions. This paper draws upon published reports, reviews and meta-analyses of drug education evaluations to identify the implications for delivery of health education through three key channels/settings—mass media, community and schools.

Adolescent drinking ‐ the role of designer drinks

Shows that adolescent drinking varies considerably between the ages of 12 and 17, with 14 and 15‐year‐olds marking a key group whose members are keen to test their limits with alcohol and drink to intoxication but who do not necessarily enjoy the process of drinking. They dislike the taste of alcohol and the amount which needs to be drunk to reach intoxication. Designer drinks have particular characteristics that meet the needs of this group by minimizing the costs and maximizing the effects of drinking. The brand image of designer drinks matches the perceptions and expectations of 14 and 15‐year‐old drinkers, while 16 and 17‐year‐olds view these drinks as “immature”. Furthermore, consumption of these drinks is linked to heavier drinking. Concludes that these results have implications for health promotion at an individual and environmental level, with a need to educate young people about the hazards of designer drinks, address the semiotic implications of designer drinks and lobby against these drinks.

The Verona Benchmark: applying evidence to improve the quality of partnership

The Verona Benchmark is a practical management tool ~ that is currently being piloted in 15 sites across t Europe. It is designed to be used by multi-sectoral partnerships working at local and regional levels to improve the quality of partnership working and to help them focus on delivering sustainable and integrated health, social and economic development. The Benchmark itself is intended to be a practical output from the Verona Initiative 10.

Promoting Health in Hospitals: The Role of Beacon.

“Best practice” is currently being used to enable modernisation within the National Health Service (NHS) in the United Kingdom. One element of this is the Beacon programme where examples of hospitals that exemplify local “best practice” are supported to develop and disseminate learning across the wider NHS. The aims of this research were to map public health‐related Beacon hospital initiatives and then to identify opportunities and barriers in this context. This was achieved by seeking the views of a range of relevant national and local stakeholders. The work suggests that whilst Beacon hospital projects have some potential in developing relatively innovative activity they are not perceived to be stepping‐stones to wider public health action. Five possible ways forward are suggested.

Understanding the commissioning process: the background to effective health promotion research and evaluation

Although there have been studies of the application of research in policy and practice, less attention has been paid to how the format procedures involB’ed in the critical preceding stage, the commissioning process, are enacted and interpreted in daily practice. This lack of critical rencction masks not only how, for instance. some research may become influential white other research does not. but also how