Port Lincoln Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Community Smoking Characteristics: 2019: Brief Report

In 2019, Port Lincoln Aboriginal Health Service (PLAHS) sought to run a community-based survey study to build a more detailed picture of tobacco smoking attitudes and behaviours in the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community. This is particularly important, given the larger proportion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander residents in Port Lincoln (5.1%), relative to wider South Australia (2.0%) [1]. Research initiatives to date have not captured the specific factors relating to smoking attitudes, behaviours, and supports that PLAHS is seeking in order to improve engagement with community needs and smoking cessation support service delivery.

To address this, PLAHS and Cancer Council SA collaborated to collect data through two approaches: 1) a community focus group facilitated by Cancer Council SA to identify core community concerns around the community health, smoking characteristics, and available supports and services in Port Lincoln; and 2) a cross-sectional survey that asked respondents about attitudes, behaviours, contexts, supports and services regarding smoking cessation, as well as perceptions and behaviours around smoking and cancer risk.