Supervisor: Dr Sophie Hickey (contact: sophie.hickey@cdu.edu.au)
Suitable for: Masters by Research
Project Location: TBA
Project Summary
Stop Smoking in it's Tracks: A Smoking Cessation Sub-study within the Indigenous Birthing in an Urban Setting
Antenatal smoking is associated with significant morbidity and mortality and is the most important modifiable cause of adverse pregnancy outcomes, including perinatal death, preterm birth, low birth weight, growth retardation and placental problems. Smoking among pregnant First Nations women remains more than three times as common as among non-Indigenous pregnant women, yet there is little evidence of the best way to address this problem.
As part of the Birthing in Our Community program, we implemented a novel smoking cessation program - "Stop Smoking in its Tracks" program. This was a service-based research project investigating the impact of intensive follow up and support for women from early pregnancy through to 6 months following birth, along with reward payments to encourage sustained smoking cessation. Stop Smoking in its Tracks also offered support, including Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT) to family members who smoke.
We are looking for a Masters by Research student to assess the effectiveness, acceptability and feasibility of providing "Stop Smoking in its Tracks." We have data on how the care was provided, women's quitting behaviour and factors associated with quit attempts and successful quitting. Women also completed a short questionnaire about their experiences of the program.
This would ideally suit someone with a background in First Nations health, health promotion, midwifery or child health nursing, public health, addiction studies or related fields.