Empowering volunteers to perform smoking-cessation service with a workshop training program using participatory action research

Background: There is a noticeably high prevalence rate in Taiwan for smoking. The Department of Health has initiated a program to recruit and train volunteers to assist public health nurses in health centers with smoking-cessation. However, no previous study has evaluated the effects of this program and there is a lack of information that is related to appropriate training content for the volunteers. The objective of this study was to examine the effects of a two-days training workshop that used an empowerment concept to promote these volunteers competence to enhance their abilities to assist with smoking-cessation programs. Methods: Participatory action research was used for this study with qualitative and quantitative data collected using a mixed method to identify the effects of competency. A total of 60 volunteers were recruited from 29 counties within New Taipei City. Results: The results showed that this program has increased volunteer competency significantly (paired t = 18.79, p = 0.000). Subjects re-defined their roles as health the professional and confident to educate their family members that smoked as seen from the results of process evaluation. Subjects rated this training program as highly recommended because they had been actively involved in the training process according to their needs by perceiving that they had devoted to their obligations as well as enhanced their capabilities. Conclusions: The effect of the training program on competency has been shown. This training content has been suggested to the health centers as part of the regular training program for smoking-cessation volunteers.