Research shows that cancer patients are less likely to be offered brief interventions for smoking cessation or referred to stop smoking services while attending cancer treatment services than those attending other hospital services.
There is a disproportionately low rate of smoking cessation among cancer survivors when compared to the general population.
All healthcare professionals should ask about smoking behaviours, but staff barriers identified in research include:
- Perceptions that such discussions were
- not appropriate
- likely to be ineffective
- stigmatising and judgemental
- Inadequate training in smoking cessation.
Within this research cancer patients also identify that they want health care professionals to discuss smoking cessation with particular emphasis on the short-term benefits.
This project aims to:
- provide cancer patients who smoke with equal access to stop smoking supports.
- empower staff to optimise brief interventions for smoking cessation with their patients throughout all stages of cancer treatment (diagnosis, treatment and survivorship).
- provide easy access and direct referral from the acute pilot site to the community stop smoking services.
- establish and integrate a collaborative professional relationship between the acute cancer services and community stop smoking services in the Southeast.
It is envisaged that staff, following educational interventions and tools provided, will show an increased awareness of the evidence for stop smoking brief Interventions for cancer patients throughout their cancer journey.
This will create a cultural awareness within the work environment and a willingness by staff to provide stop smoking brief interventions to cancer patients.
This project is based on a collaborative, integrated, tailored approach between Community Health Promotion and Regional Cancer Services, transforming research into practice.
This project is due to report on findings in mid-2026.
- Kinneally A & O’Gorman A Oncology & Haematology Advanced Nurse Practitioners, University Hospital Waterford, Regional Cancer Centre, Southeast.
- Lawlor AM ,Senior Health Promotion Officer Cancer Prevention, Dublin & Southeast, HSE Health Promotion & Improvement Department.
- Maher K, Senior Health Promotion & Improvement Officer, Head of Tobacco & smoking cessation, Southeast Community Healthcare.
References:
Fitzpatrick P et al, Provision of smoking cessation support for patients following a diagnosis of cancer in Ireland, Preventive Medicine Reports, 2023.
Fox P et al, Smoking Cessation Support: A Marathon, Not a Sprint: The Perspectives of Cancer patients who Smoke, Seminars in Oncology Nursing, 2024.
Lyons A et al, Specialist cancer hospital-based smoking cessation service provision in Ireland, Irish Journal of Medical Science, 2024.
Stop Smoking: National Clinical Guideline No. 28, National Patient Safety office, Department of Health, 2022.