What Low-income Smokers Have Learned from Public Health Pedagogy: A narrative inquiry

Objectives: Health advocates have been working to educate the public about the harms of smoking for more than 50 years. However, smoking rates have reduced more slowly among people with low incomes. The purpose of this study was to evaluate what low-income smokers have learned from a lifetime of exposure to public health education and how this knowledge may have translated into smoking-related behaviors.

Methods: We used narrative inquiry and elicitation interview techniques. Interviews were recorded, transcribed verbatim, coded, and organized into themes using the constant comparative method.

Results: All participants were aware of smoking-related harms to health but negative experiences with quitting, cessation medications, and healthcare professionals contributed to avoiding or rejecting educational messages. Participants’ perceptions of hypocritical societal tobacco control policies also led some to believe that the harms of tobacco use were exaggerated, or were being used to control or manipulate them. This contributed to a distrust of the government, public health advocates, and healthcare providers.

Conclusions: Low-income smokers were aware of the harms of smoking and that quitting would improve their health. Public health advocates should consider developing messages that attempt to foster trust in healthcare professionals and are consistent with low-income adult smokers’ quitting experiences.

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Work Title What Low-income Smokers Have Learned from Public Health Pedagogy: A narrative inquiry
Access
Open Access
Creators
  1. Susan Veldheer
  2. Robin Redmon Wright
  3. Jonathan Foulds
Keyword
  1. Smoking
  2. Public pedagogy
  3. Public health education
  4. Qualitative
  5. Narrative inquiry
License In Copyright (Rights Reserved)
Work Type Article
Publisher
  1. American Journal of Health Behavior
Publication Date July 1, 2019
Publisher Identifier (DOI)
  1. https://doi.org/10.5993/AJHB.43.4.4
Deposited May 06, 2024

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Version 1
published

  • Created
  • Added veldheer_public_health_pedagogy-revision_1_final_format_clean-1.docx
  • Added Creator Susan Veldheer
  • Added Creator Robin R Wright
  • Added Creator Jonathan Foulds
  • Published
  • Updated
  • Updated Keyword, Description Show Changes
    Keyword
    • Smoking, Public pedagogy, Public health education, Qualitative, Narrative inquiry
    Description
    • Objectives: Health advocates have been working to educate the public about the harms of smoking for more than 50 years. However, smoking rates have reduced more slowly among people with low incomes. The purpose of this study was to evaluate what low-income smokers have learned from a lifetime of exposure to public health education and how this knowledge may have translated into smoking-related behaviors. Methods: We used narrative inquiry and elicitation interview techniques. Interviews were recorded, transcribed verbatim, coded, and organized into themes using the constant comparative method. Results: All participants were aware of smoking-related harms to health but negative experiences with quitting, cessation medications, and healthcare professionals contributed to avoiding or rejecting educational messages. Participants’ perceptions of hypocritical societal tobacco control policies also led some to believe that the harms of tobacco use were exaggerated, or were being used to control or manipulate them. This contributed to a distrust of the government, public health advocates, and healthcare providers. Conclusions: Low-income smokers were aware of the harms of smoking and that quitting would improve their health. Public health advocates should consider developing messages that attempt to foster trust in healthcare professionals and are consistent with low-income adult smokers’ quitting experiences.
    • Objectives: Health advocates have been working to educate the public about the harms of smoking for more than 50 years. However, smoking rates have reduced more slowly among people with low incomes. The purpose of this study was to evaluate what low-income smokers have learned from a lifetime of exposure to public health education and how this knowledge may have translated into smoking-related behaviors.
    • Methods: We used narrative inquiry and elicitation interview techniques. Interviews were recorded, transcribed verbatim, coded, and organized into themes using the constant comparative method.
    • Results: All participants were aware of smoking-related harms to health but negative experiences with quitting, cessation medications, and healthcare professionals contributed to avoiding or rejecting educational messages. Participants’ perceptions of hypocritical societal tobacco control policies also led some to believe that the harms of tobacco use were exaggerated, or were being used to control or manipulate them. This contributed to a distrust of the government, public health advocates, and healthcare providers.
    • Conclusions: Low-income smokers were aware of the harms of smoking and that quitting would improve their health. Public health advocates should consider developing messages that attempt to foster trust in healthcare professionals and are consistent with low-income adult smokers’ quitting experiences.
  • Renamed Creator Robin Redmon Wright Show Changes
    • Robin R Wright
    • Robin Redmon Wright