Smoking in Aboriginal people and Aboriginal health staff
Aboriginal people die younger than other Australians and smoking is one of the main reasons. One in five Aboriginal deaths can be attributed to smoking 1 as can 17% of the life expectancy gap. 2 Smoking increases the risk of low birth weight babies and preterm births which can lead to health complications and delayed development in children. 3
Every premature death means someone has lost a sister or brother, Aunty or Uncle, mother of father. It means less time with family and cultural knowledge may be lost. So much sorry business adds to the stress already experienced by Aboriginal people. We need to reduce smoking rates so we can live long healthy lives keeping our families together and culture strong.
Aboriginal Health Workers are responsible for delivering primary and preventive health care to Aboriginal people including smoking cessation advice and support. Around half (51%) of Aboriginal Health Workers are smokers, and they say it’s difficult to talk to clients about smoking because they feel hypocritical. 4 Most Aboriginal Health Workers (69%) who smoke say they want to quit in the next 6 months.4 The health service has an opportunity to provide the supportive environment they need to quit. Health staff need as much support to quit smoking as clients of the health service.
As a manager, you can support Aboriginal health staff by promoting staff wellbeing and supporting staff to quit smoking when they are ready. Helping Aboriginal Health Workers to quit smoking will benefit them as an individual, assist them to feel more comfortable to talk to clients about their smoking behaviour and have flow on effects for the service, their families and the community.
Benefits of smokefree health services
A smokefree health service leads by example and is a role model to community for a clean air space. A smokefree health service demonstrates a commitment to staff and clients’ health and has a number of benefits to the service, client and community.
These potential benefits include:
- Reducing staff and clients exposure to second-hand smoke
- Assisting staff and clients to quit smoking when they are ready in a non-threatening and supportive way
- Encouraging staff to talk to clients about their smoking
- Increasing productivity by reducing smoko breaks
- Reducing butt litter around the health service
- Assisting Tackling Tobacco workforce with Key Performance Indicators
- Contributing to the de-normalising of smoking for community
Supportive workplaces to promote staff wellbeing and smoking cessation
Aboriginal Health Workers have said that stress is one of the main reasons they find it difficult to quit smoking. They identified a number of stress-related smoking triggers and barriers to quitting, including a number of stressors within the workplace.
The workplace has a unique opportunity to create an environment that supports staff to work towards a clean air life. Aboriginal health staff who feel respected and valued, experience cultural safety and positive relationships with co-workers, are consulted on a regular basis, work in a supportive environment and have reasonable work demands will be more able to prioritise their health than those that do not.
Social and emotional wellbeing is a key concept of Aboriginal health and the overarching principle of the Manager’s Toolbox. This Toolbox outlines ways you may like to use to promote a change in organisational culture that centres around developing and implementing wellbeing strategies for staff.
A wellbeing approach focuses on everyone and minimises the potential for victimisation when smokers get singled out. Creating an environment where staff feel supported and valued can reduce stress, improve work satisfaction and remove important barriers to quitting.
References
Scollo, MM and Winstanley, MH. Tobacco in Australia: Facts and issues. 4th edn. Melbourne: Cancer Council Victoria; 2012. Available from www.TobaccoInAustralia.org.au
Scollo, MM and Winstanley, MH. Tobacco in Australia: Facts and issues. 4th edn. Melbourne: Cancer Council Victoria; 2012. Available from www.TobaccoInAustralia.org.au
an der Sterren, A. & Goreen Narrkwarren Ngrn-toura – Healthy Family Air (Reducing Smoking amongst Pregnant Aboriginal Women in Victoria: An Holistic Approach) Project Team 2010, Goreen Narrkwarren Ngrn-toura – Healthy Family Air: A Literature Review to Inform the VACCHO Smoking amongst Pregnant Aboriginal Women Research Project, Victorian Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation, Melbourne.
Maksimovic L, Paquet C, Daniel M, Stewart H, Chong A, Lekkas P, Cargo M. Characterising the smoking status and quit smoking behaviour of aboriginal health workers in South Australia. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2013;10(12):7193-206.