Addressing smoking and health among women living on low income I. Dean's Community Club: a mental-health project

Abstract

This is the first of three articles all of which are published in this issue of the HEJ on the Women, Low Income and Smoking Project. This ASH Scotland project was fuuded by the Health Education Board for Scotland (HEBS) and explored new ways of working to address smoking and health among women living on low incomes. Nineteen community-based initiatives, located across Scotland, were funded over three years to March 1999. In this first article we consider one initiative located in the Dean's Community Club in hivingston, a project which provides educational and recreational opportunities and emotional support for people recovering or suffering from mental-health prob lems. A group of women and three facilitators were successful with an appli cation for funds to run sessions over 26 weeks to include activities which were distracting, informative and enhanced self confidence. Through involvement in this initiative, wonlen reviewed the place of smoking in their lives and a number changed health and smoking behaviours. The shared experience of developing and running the initiative promoted self esteem and marked a growth point in the confidence of the women involved and in the Dean's Club more generally.