Smoke Free Health Care
Click on the relevant reports, resources and publications for more information.
| Program/Project | Smoke Free Health Care |
| Period/Length | 15 years |
| Aim | To reduce smoking prevalence in NNSW by supporting the LHD’s implementation of the NSW Health Smoke Free Health Care Policy |
| Year | 2006-present |
| Target Group | NNSW LHD clients, visitors, staff and managers |
| Reach | District wide |
| Locations | Across Northern NSW |
| Partners | NSW Health
NNSWLHD executive |
| Funding | HP |
| Contact | Lauren.stafford@health.nsw.gov.au |
| Full Report | The first report was published in 2008 and is available here |
| Resources | Many resources have been produced to support implementation and can be found on this website under the smoking section |
| More Information | See below |
| Publications | Kia AM, van Beurden EK, Dart GS, Barrack CM, Mitchell MD. Smoke Free Health Care: an organisational change to increase effective intervention for tobacco. NSW Public Health Bull. 2008;19(3-4):60-4. |
What strategies were used?
Executive level steering group. Clinical procedure. Work with pharmacies on NRT availability. Staff education. Site based working groups. Annual site audits reported to site WH&S committees. Quarterly performance audits of smoking in public areas included in CE’s performance agreement.
What were the program outcomes?
The 2007 survey found substantial increases in quit smoking rates among staff in the former NRAHS (females: from 21.3% to 34.1%; males: from 24.6% to 32.7%). These were not evident in the NSW population (females: 21.2% to 20.1%; males: 28.4% to 25.5%). There were also significant and substantial decreases in the current smoking rates among staff in the former NRAHS (females: from 20.3% to 11.1%; males: from 24.6% to 13.6%).
There are still people smoking on health campuses periphery, but in most quarterly audits, the smoking prevalence among people observed in high traffic areas of the big hospitals is less than 2%.