Public Health

PReS -Preventing Return to Smoking Postpartum – Development of a complex intervention to sustain smoking cessation in postpartum women

This UEA led study, funded by the Medical Research Council and supported by NIHR, aimed to develop a supportive intervention, to be integrated into existing healthcare, to help women who have stopped smoking in pregnancy stay stopped following the birth of a baby. Following a systematic review of intervention behaviour change techniques, researchers gathered qualitative feedback from pregnant and postpartum relapsers and ex-smokers, partners and healthcare professionals to define who might deliver an intervention, in what form, for how long and with what potential components. Using a person-based approach, the final phase of the study tested a prototype intervention, enabling them to develop an approach suitable for testing in a definitive trial. Full report is published in Int. J. Envi-ron. Res. Public Health.

I-ACT Access to primary care for socio-economically disadvantaged older people in rural areas: A qualitative study

This NIHR funded study, led by UEA researchers, highlighted multiple barriers to accessing primary care for socio-economically older people in rural areas. The researchers concluded that ‘as primary care is re-organised to reduce costs, commissioners and practitioners must not lose sight of the perceived social contract and models of care that form the basis of how many older people interact with the service’. The study findings are in PLOS ONE.

WRAP FINAL info graphic.pdf

WRAP - Weight Loss Referrals for Adults in Primary Care

For adults with overweight or obesity, referral to an open-group behavioural weight-loss programme for at least 12 weeks is more effective than brief advice and self-help materials. A 52-week programme produces greater weight loss and other clinical benefits than a 12-week programme and, although it costs more, modelling suggests that the 52-week programme is cost-effective in the longer term.

The study findings have been published in the The Lancet. The infographic on the left summarises the study's key findings.