Smoking in Pregnancy Among Indigenous Women in High-Income Countries: A Narrative Review.

INTRODUCTION: Pregnant women in socioeconomically disadvantaged circumstances, such as Indigenous women, have a high prevalence of smoking. Tobacco smoking is the most significant reversible risk factor for the health of Indigenous pregnant women and their babies. METHODS: As researchers working in this specialized area, we conducted a narrative review of the literature on smoking among Indigenous pregnant women in the United States, Canada, New Zealand, and Australia. We summarize prevalence and factors influencing tobacco use, interventions, and evidence gaps for tobacco control and smoking cessation. Recommendations are made for future interventions, policy changes, and much-needed research. RESULTS: Common themes emerging across the four countries reveal opportunities for cross-cultural collaborative studies and trials. These include the social-normative use of tobacco as barriers to quitting in pregnancy and the need for evaluations of interventions at the family and community level. Socioeconomic disparities underscore the importance of enhancing the implementation and reach of strategies to prevent and reduce prenatal tobacco smoking among Indigenous women. Elders and community health care providers as role models for nontobacco use could be explored. Qualitative work is needed to understand the barriers and opportunities, such as cultural strengths supporting quitting tobacco to develop more effective approaches. CONCLUSIONS: Although a high-priority group, there remains a dearth of research on Indigenous women's smoking in pregnancy. Studies have assessed knowledge and attitudes to smoking in pregnancy, and small feasibility studies and a few empirical trials have been conducted. Recommendations for promising culturally appropriate cessation interventions have been made. Larger trials are warranted. IMPLICATIONS: Strategies to support quitting among pregnant Indigenous women need to be multifactorial and take account of the social determinants of smoking including historical antecedents, community norms, cultural strengths, and recognition of individual and community needs. Cross-country research collaborations have the potential to leverage funding, share expertise, and strengthen approaches to tackle an important and poorly attended health disparity that has a profound impact on the entire life course for Indigenous peoples.

Could 'Aunties' Recruit Pregnant Indigenous Women Who Smoke Into a Trial and Deliver a Cessation Intervention? A Feasibility Study.

Objective Maori (indigenous New Zealand) women have the highest smoking prevalence rates in New Zealand and whilst pregnant. We hypothesized that community health workers ('Aunties') could find pregnant Maori women who smoke, recruit them into a study and deliver an acceptable cessation intervention. The aim of the study was to test the feasibility of such an intervention. Method A community health organization was engaged to, using a participatory approach, conduct a feasibility study. Participants were ten Aunties and the pregnant women the Aunties recruited. The Aunties advised their participants to abstain from smoking, offered a Quitcard (for subsidized nicotine replacement) or referral to local cessation providers. A booklet on healthy eating for pregnancy was given and discussed and the Aunties offered help if needed to register with a lead maternity carer (LMC). All women completed a baseline questionnaire. Semi-structured follow up face-to-face interviews were conducted with a subsample of women and hospital birth records were examined. Descriptive statistics were produced using quantitative data. Qualitative data was deductively analysed. Results During 4 months eight Aunties recruited 67 pregnant women who smoked, 88 % were Maori, 84 % were of low socio economic status and 73 % had up to high school education. Only 36 % of the recruited women had registered with an LMC. The participants described the Aunties as supportive, nice and non-judgmental. The only criticism was a lack of follow up. Aspects of the intervention that the Aunties thought worked well were knowing and being involved with their community, and being able to give a gift pack to the participating women. Insufficient follow up was one aspect that didn't work well. The infant's birth record was found for 54 % of the participants. Conclusion Aunties were able to identify and recruit pregnant Maori women who smoked. The study method and intervention were acceptable to Aunties and participants and it was feasible to collect data from the participants' hospital birth records. Based on this study, with a similar number of Aunties recruiting, it would take 2 years to recruit over 300 participants, which would be sufficient for a stronger controlled trial.

Australian and New Zealand Indigenous mothers' report respect for smoking bans in homes.

BACKGROUND: There is limited data about the reasons behind residential rules to reduce environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) exposure or the establishment or enforcement of such rules in Indigenous populations. AIM: We aimed to gain an understanding of smokefree rules around Australian and New Zealand (NZ) Indigenous infants. METHOD: This was a qualitative study nested within a randomised controlled trial that aimed to test the efficacy of a family-centred tobacco control programme about environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) to improve the respiratory health of Indigenous infants in Australia and New Zealand. Qualitative semi-structured interviews were conducted with 26 Indigenous mothers of infants in Australia (n=7) and NZ (n=19). We asked about the presence of smokefree rules, who set the rules, how the rules were set and enforced, and presence of smokefree rules in participants' wider social circle. Interviews were audiotaped, transcribed, and inductively analysed to identify key themes. FINDINGS: Sixty-nine percent of mothers had partners, 77% smoked and all reported some presence of smokefree rules for house and car. Three main themes were identified: strategies to minimise exposure to ETS, establishing smokefree rules in homes and cars, and, adherence and enforcement of smokefree rules. Several strategies were identified to limit children's exposure to ETS, including rules to limit exposure to third-hand smoke. Mothers extended their smokefree rules to apply to other people's houses or cars, and reported that their family and social circles also had smokefree rules. The main reason for having smokefree rules was for the health of their children. Rules were most commonly set by the mother, often jointly with their partner. Few mothers reported challenges or problems with other people adhering to the smokefree rules. CONCLUSION: Women tried very hard to, and believed that they were effective in, protecting their children from the harmful effects of ETS exposure. In this context, health professionals need to emphasise smoking cessation in parents, so that children are maximally protected from ETS exposure.

Using incentives to encourage smoking abstinence among pregnant indigenous women? A feasibility study.

Smoking during pregnancy increases the risk of many adverse health outcomes for both the mother and the unborn child (Morton et al. 2010). Indigenous people often have a higher smoking prevalence during pregnancy than non-Indigenous populations. In New Zealand (NZ), the smoking rates among Indigenous Maori women who are pregnant have reduced since 1991 (68 %) but still remains high in 2007 (34 %) (Morton et al. 2010). The success rate of most smoking cessation interventions for pregnant smokers is low at <6 % (Lumley et al. 2009). In other populations of pregnant women, financial incentives have been shown to increase the attractiveness of smoking cessation programs and increase the number of quit attempts. A feasibility study was undertaken to determine the likely effectiveness of an incentives-based cessation trial among pregnant Maori women that smoked. Pregnant smokers, aged 16 years and older, who self-identified as Maori, were 2-30 weeks pregnant, and currently smoked, were recruited through health practitioners, print media, and radio adverts in Auckland, NZ. Participants were randomised to (1) usual cessation support, including information about different cessation products and services, and access to nicotine replacement therapy (control), (2) usual cessation support plus a retail voucher to the value of NZ$25 for each 'abstinent from smoking' week for 8 weeks (voucher), or (3) usual cessation support plus product to the value of NZ$25 for each 'abstinent from smoking' week for 8 weeks (product). Outcomes measures included weekly self-reported and monthly biochemically verified smoking status, and acceptability. Of the 74 referred women, 50 declined involvement in the study and 24 consented and were randomised (eight control, eight voucher and eight to product). The mean age of participants was 25 years old (±2.25). Overall 21 % (n = 5) of the women were abstinent from smoking for at least 6 weeks of the eight, one from the control, six from the product and three from the voucher. Our findings suggest that incentives, in particular a choice of products, may be an effective addition to usual care to increase smoking cessation among pregnant Maori women, which has the potential to improve health outcomes for both the mother and child.

A systematic review of barriers and facilitators to participation in randomized controlled trials by Indigenous people from New Zealand, Australia, Canada and the United States.

ISSUE: Many randomized controlled trials (RCTs) are conducted each year but only a small proportion is specifically designed for Indigenous people. In this review we consider the challenges of participation in RCTs for Indigenous peoples from New Zealand, Australia, Canada and the United States and the opportunities for increasing participation. APPROACH: The literature was systematically searched for published articles including information on the barriers and facilitators for Indigenous people's participation in health-related RCTs. Articles were identified using a key word search of electronic databases (Scopus, Medline and EMBASE). To be included, papers had to include in their published work at least one aspect of their RCT that was either a barrier and/or facilitator for participation identified from, for example, design of intervention, or discussion sections of articles. Articles that were reviews, discussions, opinion pieces or rationale/methodology were excluded. Results were analysed inductively, allowing themes to emerge from the data. KEY FINDINGS: Facilitators enabling Indigenous people's participation in RCTs included relationship and partnership building, employing Indigenous staff, drawing on Indigenous knowledge models, targeted recruitment techniques and adapting study material. Challenges for participation included both participant-level factors (such as a distrust of research) and RCT-level factors (including inadequately addressing likely participant barriers (phone availability, travel costs), and a lack of recognition or incorporation of Indigenous knowledge systems. IMPLICATION: The findings from our review add to the body of knowledge on elimination of health disparities, by identifying effective and practical strategies for conducting and engaging Indigenous peoples with RCTs. Future trials that seek to benefit Indigenous peoples should actively involve Indigenous research partners, and respect and draw on pertinent Indigenous knowledge and values. This review has the potential to assist in the design of such studies.

Reducing smoking in pregnancy among Maori women: "aunties" perceptions and willingness to help.

Maori (the indigenous people of New Zealand) women have high rates of smoking during pregnancy and 42 % register with a lead maternity carer (LMC) after their first trimester, delaying receipt of cessation support. We used a participatory approach with Maori community health workers ("Aunties") to determine their willingness and perceived ability to find pregnant Maori smokers early in pregnancy and to provide cessation support. Three meetings were held in three different regions in New Zealand. The aunties believed they could find pregnant women in first trimester who were still smoking by using their networks, the 'kumara-vine' (sweet potato vine), tohu (signs/omens), their instinct and by looking for women in the age range most likely to get pregnant. The aunties were willing to provide cessation and other support but they said they would do it in a "Maori way" which depended on formed relationships and recognised roles within families. The aunties' believed that their own past experiences with pregnancy and/or smoking would be advantageous when providing support. Aunties' knowledge about existing proven cessation methods and services and knowledge about how to register with a LMC ranged from knowing very little to having years of experience working in the field. They were all supportive of receiving up-to-date information on how best to support pregnant women to stop smoking. Aunties in communities believe that they could find pregnant women who smoke and they are willing to help deliver cessation support. Our ongoing research will test the effectiveness of such an approach.

Health consequences of tobacco use for Maori--cessation essential for reducing inequalities in health.

AIM: Tobacco use remains the largest preventable cause of death and disease in New Zealand. The aim of this paper was to identify all known health consequences of smoking, including exposure to other people's smoke, focusing on Maori. METHOD: A review of the scientific literature, 'grey' literature, and, Government health data and reports. RESULTS: Smoking has been causally linked with cardiovascular disease (CVD), many cancers, and several respiratory diseases, and, rates are higher for Maori than non-Maori. There are many consequences for smokers loved ones, including, pregnancy and birth complications, SUDI, and increased respiratory infections, cancers and CVD for children and adults. Maori have higher rates of still-birth and SUDI. CONCLUSION: This paper summarises all health consequences, to the smoker and their family. Supporting smoking cessation among Maori, particularly women and parents, may be one of the quickest pathways to health improvements for Maori.

The use of the 'rollie' in New Zealand: preference for loose tobacco among an ethnically diverse low socioeconomic urban population.

AIM: To examine the prevalence of and reasons for smoking roll-your-own (RYO) cigarettes in a population of South Auckland adults. METHOD: Cross-sectional survey of the parents of 2,973 children at four South Auckland Intermediate Schools in 2007-2009. RESULT: Just over a quarter (813; 27%) of parents were smokers. Most (82%) were Maori or Pacific peoples (47% and 34% respectively) of whom 47% smoked only factory-made (FM) and 38% smoked only RYO cigarettes. Exclusive RYO smoking was more common among European (53%) than Maori (40%), Pacific (38%) and Asian ethnic groups (23%). The most common reasons for preferring RYO over FM cigarettes were lower cost (50%), lasting longer (42%), and taste (8%). A few chose RYO because they perceived them to be less harmful (5%). CONCLUSION: Reducing the cost benefit of RYO should lessen the potential use of RYOs as an alternative to quitting. Health education campaigns are needed to counter incorrect beliefs surrounding RYO. Such programmes should include awareness in schools, churches and Pacific communities.