Barriers and Motivators to Gaining Access to Smoking Cessation Services Amongst Deprived Smokers

From the abstract: "Smoking is strongly associated with disadvantage and is an important contributor to
inequalities in health. Smoking cessation services have been implemented in the UK [United Kingdom] targeting
disadvantaged smokers, but there is little evidence available on how to design services to attract
this priority group... [Researchers] conducted focus groups ... from the most socioeconomically
deprived areas... who had made an unsuccessful attempt to quit
within the last year without using smoking cessation services, to identify specific barriers or
motivators to gaining access to these services...


[Results showed that] barriers to use of existing services related to fear of being judged, fear of failure, a
perceived lack of knowledge about existing services, a perception that available interventions –
particularly Nicotine Replacement Therapy – are expensive and ineffective, and negative media
publicity about bupropion [an antidepressant]. Participants expressed a preference for a personalised, non-judgemental
approach combining counselling with affordable, accessible and effective pharmacological therapies;
convenient and flexible timing of service delivery, and the possibility of subsidised complementary
therapies.


[The study] concludes that smokers from these deprived areas generally had low awareness
of the services available to help them, and misconceptions about their availability and effectiveness.
A more personalised approach to promoting services that are non-judgemental, and with free
pharmacotherapy and flexible support may encourage more deprived smokers to quit smoking."