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Monitoring & evaluating Aboriginal tobacco control

Tobacco smoking is a major public health problem for Indigenous (and other) Australians. Tobacco smoking is more than twice as common amongst Indigenous people as other Australians: 50% of Indigenous people aged 18 years and more are daily smokers. However, we do not know whether current Indigenous tobacco control activities are making an impact on smoking.  

 
Organisation or Department: 
Menzies School of Health Research
Project Activities: 
Phase one will run for two years, and began in February 2007. We used national surveys to understand the social determinants of Indigenous smoking and local interview data to understand the reasons why Indigenous people smoke, quit smoking, or never start smoking. A simple tool to audit tobacco control activities in these remote communities was developed. We also used interviews, staff questionnaires and tobacco consumption data from remote community stores to evaluate a NTDHCS tobacco control intervention in five remote communities in 2007. 
 

Phase two commenced later, in July 2007, and ran until February 2009. Commencement of phase two will depend on acceptable progress of phase one. This project attempts to establish a sustainable and unobtrusive monitoring and feedback system using tobacco consumption data from remote community stores and six-monthly audits of tobacco control. We will use this data to describe both local trends in tobacco consumption to better inform the public health response to Indigenous tobacco smoking and to provide the framework for future evaluations of tobacco control activities.

Project Timeframe: 

February 2007 - February 2009

Partner Organisations: 

Funded by the Collaborative Research Centre for Aboriginal Health (CRCAH) and the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC)

Top End remote communities, Northern Terrritory Department of Health and Community Services, AMSANT and OATSIH

Summary of Findings and Recommendations: 

Trends of tobacco sales in 10 communities (at Feb 2008) have been monitored and fed back to communities.

Interviews with community members have found that families are important in uptake, continuing and quitting amoking.

Analysis of ABS statistics to understand connection between social determinants and smoking has been published.

Project Resources and Publications: 

Thomas, D. P., V. Briggs, et al. (2008) "The social determinants of being an Indigenous non-smoker" Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health, 32(2): 110-116
View abstract

Thomas D, Johnston V, Fitz J, McDonnell J (2009)
Monitoring local trends in Indigenous tobacco consumption; Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health; 33:1,64-67
View abstract

Contact Details: 

Dr David Thomas
Menzies School of Health Research

State: 
Northern Territory

 
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