Improving Health for Aboriginal People Through Tobacco Related Research

Aim: To identify barriers and facilitators in the uptake of smoking cessation pharmacotherapies, tobacco prevention, doctor visits, smoking amongst youth, community held health priorities and barriers to research in Aboriginal Australians from the perspectives of: * Aboriginal smokers and ex/non-smokers * Aboriginal Healthcare workers * Consultants/general practitioners, and * Key stakeholders in Aboriginal health Focus groups, one-on-one interviews and surveys will be conducted to provide information at the 'grass-roots' level including examinations into perceived differences in locally held beliefs, attitudes, knowledge, traditional practices and the cultural and social constructs, to assist implementation of future tobacco cessation/prevention interventions and treatment of smoking related illnesses. This information can be used to improve the health of Aboriginal people by identifying inadequacies in current practices and highlighting what these are through the eyes of community members, healthcare workers, consultants/general practitioners and key stakeholders. We also intend on examining any facilitators that are identified as positive and working aspects of current initiatives e.g. community infrastructure, in an effort to not 'reinvent the wheel' and acknowledge what is working.