Development of Culturally Appropriate Support Strategies to Increase Uptake of Nicotine Replacement Therapy Among Russian- and Chinese-Speaking Smokers in New York City

Abstract

Approximately 80,000 New York City smokers are Chinese or Russian speakers. To increase utilization of smoking cessation services among these populations, the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene developed linguistically and culturally tailored outreach strategies to promote and enhance its annual Nicotine Patch and Gum Program. In 2010, online web applications in Chinese and Russian were introduced. In 2011, input was sought from the community to develop Russian-language radio and newspaper ads, and a Russian-speaking liaison provided phone-assisted online enrollment support. In 2012, Chinese newspaper ads were introduced, and a Cantonese- and Mandarin-speaking liaison was hired to provide enrollment support. In 2010, 51 Russian speakers and 40 Chinese speakers enrolled in the program via web application. In 2011, 510 Russian speakers applied via the web application, with 463 assisted by the Russian-speaking liaison; forty-four Chinese speakers applied online. In 2012, 394 Russian speakers applied via the web application; 363 were assisted by the Russian-speaking liaison. Eighty-five Chinese smokers applied online via the web application; seventy were assisted by the Chinese-speaking liaison. Following the implementation of culturally tailored cessation support interventions, ethnic Russian smokers' uptake of cessation support increased tenfold, while Chinese smokers' uptake doubled. Although linguistically appropriate resources are an essential foundation for reaching immigrant communities with high smoking rates, devising culturally tailored strategies to increase quit rates is critical to programmatic success.

A Scoping Review of Health Equity Interventions in Governmental Public Health

“…Intervention settings included the physical locations where the intervention was conducted. These 29,32,[44][45][46][47]54,57 (2) community setting, 22,23,26,28,31,[33][34][35]39,40,42,43,48,51,52,55 (3) correctional facility, 30 (4) home-based delivery, 24,27,60 (5) mobile clinics, 36,37,49,50 (6) not-reported, 53,56 and (8) virtual setting. 25,38,41,58,59 Intervention delivery agent…”

“…Intervention components were strategies and tactics that interventions used to reach populations and effect change. These included: (1) health education training,22-29 (2) free/affordable care,30-36 (3) social media/social networks,37-42 (4) training providers,43-48 (5) data-driven strategy,49-52 (6) structural/policy change,53-56(7) phone-based interventions,57-59 and (8) environmental change 60. Some articles used multiple tactics to reach populations.…”

“…The role of the person/team delivering the intervention. These included: (1) community-based workers,22-29,31,32, 37,39,40,42,49,50,52,57-59 (2) health educators,43-48 (3) public health departments,30,33,34,41,53,60 (4) clinicians,35,36,51 and (5) not-reported 38,54-56…”

“…These interventions often included community outreach, home interventions, and education about how to navigate the health care system. For example, an intervention focused on diabetes management included community-based outreach, home-based health coaching by community health workers (CHWs), and community-clinic linkages to promote self-management and health care engagement 24. A reproductive education intervention for Black women aged 18-86 utilized peer health educators and preconception health education training 28.…”

“…Intervention components were strategies and tactics that interventions used to reach populations and effect change. These included: (1) health education training, [22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29] (2) free/affordable care, [30][31][32][33][34][35][36] (3) social media/social networks, 37-42 (4) training providers, [43][44][45][46][47][48] (5) data-driven strategy, [49][50][51][52] (6) structural/policy change, [53][54][55][56] (7) phonebased interventions, [57][58][59] and (8) environmental change.-60 Some articles used multiple tactics to reach populations. However, for our analysis and Figure 1, we categorized each article using the primary strategy used in intervention; categories are mutually exclusive.…”