Stages of Change training for opportunistic smoking intervention by the primary health care team. Part II: qualitative evaluation of long-term impact on professionals' reported behaviour

Abstract

This paper presents and critically evaluates data on the long-term impact of brief training for the primary health care team in facilitating smoking behav iour change with patients. Semi-structured interviews were carried out with one third (n = 23) of training participants one year after taking part in a brief, one-day workshop to enhance the abilities of the primary care team in facilitating smoking behaviour change. The impact of brief training for the primary care team is premised on the health professionals' acceptance of the content and relevance of the training, the enhancement of professional self- efficacy, their definition of their role in health promotion work, their own smoking status, and their readiness to change clinical practice/behaviour. It is also dependent on professionals' capacity to refrain from using ineffective methods which may cancel out the benefits gained by learning and using more effective strategies. Future training workshops or courses for primary health care professionals in health promotion work should be tailored to individual participants' needs as their readiness to change clinical practice must be acknowledged rather than using a global approach which can result in a diluted impact.