World Health Organization Collaborating Centre for Smoking Cessation and Treatment of Tobacco Dependence
Best Practices of Smoking Cessation in the Western Pacific Region
Questionnaire
1. Country / Region
Papua New Guinea
Programme background
2. Name of Programme / Service
WHO ASSIST Program, which complements brief interventions and motivational interview provided by Psychiatrists
3. Objective(s) of the programme / service (e.g. triggering quit attempt, promoting new activity, provision of cessation services)
Trigger quit attempt using WHO ASSIST tool.
Interventions based on Risk severity (mild, moderate or severe).
NRT prescribed for those who require it or can afford as NRT is not on country’s National Drug Catalogue.
4. Duration / time period of the programme / service
The program began around 2014.
5. Target population
Psychiatric inpatients only.
Programme details
6. Please briefly describe the activity(-ies) carried out under the programme / service (e.g. provision of smoking cessation services, campaign to promote/enhance cessation services provision).
Inpatients found on history taking to be smoking currently are referred by the treating Psychiatrist to the hospital’s Drug & Alcohol Officer who uses the WHO ASSIST Program tool kit to assess severity (mild, moderate or severe) and then are managed according to prescribed intervention against the level of severity. Those in the severe category who show withdrawal symptoms are prescribed other medication as well as NRT.
7. What were the factors that contributed to the programme / service establishment?
High comorbidity of smoking in this group of population (psychiatric inpatients).
8. Did the programme / service involve other organisation(s) (e.g. non-governmental organisation, professional association, academia)? What were their roles?
Assists the University of Papua New Guinea mental health nursing students with training in WHO ASSIST program.
9. Please briefly describe the resource implications for this programme / service:
| a) | How was/were necessary funding and/or manpower secured? |
|---|---|
| Funding is part of the hospital’s operational budget. There is no separate funding for this program. | |
| b) | Please briefly describe any use of information technology to implement or facilitate the programme / service |
| None at present | |
| c) | Any other special resource required to implement the programme / service? |
| Yes, having Smokelyzers would be handy for not just the clinic but for the inpatient screening on admission. |
10. COVID-19
| a) | Please briefly describe any difficulties encountered during the programme / service implementation amid COVID-19. |
|---|---|
| COVID-19 was a difficult time. Services were prioritized and scaled down. Our ASSIST program which also included smoke cessation was also scaled down. Only the interventions were provided. | |
| b) | How did you overcome them? |
| Use of face masks and social distancing was practiced for clients that really needed |
Programme evaluation
11. Was there any evaluation of the programme / service (e.g. quantitative survey, qualitative interview, etc.) conducted?
Not as yet.
12. What was the impact of the programme / services (e.g. number of smokers who quit)?
No evaluation was done but some patients followed at psychiatric clinics revealed they have either quit or reduced their number of cigarettes they smoke
13. How would the evaluation results be used (e.g. improving policy / programmes)?
If the evaluation results are available, they will be used to improve the program by identifying key areas for enhancement, particularly in staff training and equipment needs.