“At the third meeting, the pieces of the puzzle really fell into place,” says Judith Visser, researcher at Amsterdam UMC. She is one of the eight participants in the ‘Leerkring Wijkaanpak Stoppen met Roken’ of Pharos. Previously, the purpose of the learning circle was still somewhat vague for her. “Now I see where we are going. For example, I learned that co-creation is indispensable.”
Don’t just come up with a smoking cessation training
Judith says that after the three meetings she understands that it makes no sense to just come up with a smoking cessation training and offer it to people in a neighbourhood. “You first have to work with the residents to see what they need and what suits them. If you don’t involve them, there is a chance that the training will not catch on. Co-creation is not a nice extra, but a condition for success.”
Action card district approach to stop smoking
In the third meeting, the participants practiced with an actor, learned how to build a network and gave feedback on an action card. This map shows all the phases and steps of the neighborhood approach. Judith finds this a very useful tool. “You don’t have to literally do what it says, but it helps you to keep an overview. You can always check where you are and immediately see what the next step is. It is a handle, a handhold.”
“As a point for improvement, we included the theme of ‘safeguarding the approach’. The role of the municipality was also somewhat underexposed. Very nice that with our tips this instrument is also being honed even further. Actually, that is also a form of co-creation.”
Role of social domain
During the learning circle, the researcher shared her presentation on the role of the social domain in a neighborhood-oriented smoking cessation approach in North Amsterdam. “One question I still had is how you can take along professionals who still see too many barriers to get started with quitting smoking. It is very nice to get advice from other participants. Certainly the GGD people are people from the field. That is very valuable to me as a researcher.”
Circle to learn
Judith also learned how to build a sustainable network. “Really listening to people’s needs is super important. You can only really achieve something in a neighborhood if you start working together.” Judith also sees this commonality very well in the learning circles. “It really is a circle to learn. A safe and inspiring environment. You are on the road together and learn a lot from the experiences of others. Sometimes I didn’t know if I was on the right track, but because of the form of a learning circle, you are not alone. Every neighborhood is different and requires a tailor-made approach.”
Experienced power
Participant Akke Hofstee, project leader of Smokefree Generation Fryslân, finds the meetings a perfect mix of practice, theory and learning from each other. “Even though I have been working as a health promoter for years, I could still learn a lot in this learning circle. It certainly wasn’t a piece of cake for me. For example, I now know that you should not immediately get to the point with people who smoke, but first have a chat to see where their interests lie and where you can tap into.
It is always very inspiring to do and learn new things. Muzus’ tools, such as the action card, are very useful. You can get started right away. It is practice-oriented.”
Debt counseling
When Akke looks at her own assignment in Lemmer, she is in the initial phase. Together with her colleague Bilbo Schickenberg, she is now looking at who the important partners in the neighborhood are. “We look very broadly, at the social domain, but also at debt assistance, for example.”
“I have another nice example of this: A debt counselor recently called me about something completely different. I asked if he ever brings up smoking cessation. He wanted to, but didn’t know how. He doesn’t get any further than telling how expensive cigarettes are. After my story he was so enthusiastic that we made an appointment and he will even arrange for other debt counselors to be present. These kinds of developments make me happy. It shows how important it is to be well versed in your network and to see connections. I really believe that when professionals and residents in a neighborhood work together to quit smoking, great things happen.”
About the Learning Circle Neighborhood Approach Stop Smoking
More and more people are quitting smoking. But that does not apply to people with a lower level of education. Half of men aged 25-45 with a lower education smoke. Tobacco addiction contributes about 30% to the large difference in life expectancy between low and high educated people. Pharos therefore wants to develop, with funds from the RIVM, a working method for strengthening the access to (recognised) stop-smoking support in deprived neighbourhoods.
To achieve this, Pharos organized a learning circle in 2022 in collaboration with experts from research institute IVO and design agency Muzus. By conducting empathic research, the living environment of the neighborhood is central and connection between residents and professionals takes place. The learning circle consisted of 3 meetings in 2022 in which 7 GGD health promoters and a team of researchers participated. The aim is that in 7 municipalities and 8 priority neighborhoods, the orientation towards recognized smoking cessation interventions will be strengthened. Based on the experiences and shared knowledge, Pharos and RIVM develop and disseminate the developed instruments and knowledge about the approach.
Read the article about the second meeting of the learning circle here or look at our program page A smoke-free life for everyone.