Changing voice: A reframe of Oregon Tobacco Quit Line promotion to Low Socio-Economic and Asian Pacific Islander communities in Oregon

Background/purpose: The Oregon Health Authority, Tobacco Prevention and Education Program (TPEP), is working to increase calls to the Oregon Tobacco Quit Line (Quit Line) from people in communities most likely to be negatively impacted by the use of tobacco–-low socio-economic communities and communities of color. One component of this effort is a reframe of the messages used to promote the program.

Methods: Metropolitan Group conducted focus groups with men and women of low socio-economic status who were current smokers intending to quit. We also conducted focus groups with smokers in the Asian Pacific Islander (API) community who wanted to quit. The API group had a diversity of incomes and educational backgrounds. All groups sought to identify the motivations for quitting, the barriers to calling the Quit Line and compelling information for audiences.

Results/outcomes: Findings showed a need to include caller testimonials, highlight that real people staff the free quit line, and emphasize that callers make their own plan. We revised the materials, identified outreach opportunities and developed partnerships, all through the lens of sharing the real Quit Line experience. By the time of the annual meeting, we will have results to share.

Conclusions/implications: To help smokers move from contemplation to action when it comes not only to quitting but also to accessing help, cessation service promotion must be based a clear understanding of audience barriers, needs, and influencers.