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AIM: The aim of this study was to explore nurses' perceptions of climate and environmental issues and examine how nurses perceive their role in contributing to the process of sustainable development.

BACKGROUND: Climate change and its implications for human health represent an increasingly important issue for the healthcare sector. According to the International Council of Nurses Code of Ethics, nurses have a responsibility to be involved and support climate change mitigation and adaptation to protect human health.

DESIGN: This is a descriptive, explorative qualitative study.

METHODS: Nurses (n = 18) were recruited from hospitals, primary care and emergency medical services; eight participated in semi-structured, in-depth individual interviews and 10 participated in two focus groups. Data were collected from April-October 2013 in Sweden; interviews were transcribed verbatim and analysed using content analysis.

RESULTS: Two main themes were identified from the interviews: (i) an incongruence between climate and environmental issues and nurses' daily work; and (ii) public health work is regarded as a health co-benefit of climate change mitigation. While being green is not the primary task in a lifesaving, hectic and economically challenging context, nurses' perceived their profession as entailing responsibility, opportunities and a sense of individual commitment to influence the environment in a positive direction.

CONCLUSIONS: This study argues there is a need for increased awareness of issues and methods that are crucial for the healthcare sector to respond to climate change. Efforts to develop interventions should explore how nurses should be able to contribute to the healthcare sector's preparedness for and contributions to sustainable development.

BACKGROUND: Globally, alcohol use significantly contributes to the disease burden. Alcohol consumption in Uganda is related to several health consequences among young people, including university students. Social media is commonly used by students to share academic information and create social networks. Among young people in high-income countries, previous studies have also shown that social media use can have negative health outcomes related to alcohol use, and associated problems. To date, similar studies conducted in low- and middle-income countries are largely missing.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the prevalence of and associations between social media use and alcohol consumption among university students in Uganda.

METHOD: This was a cross-sectional study among 996 undergraduate students at Makerere University. Data were collected using a questionnaire. Alcohol use in the previous 12 months was the dependent variable. The independent variable was social media use categorised as general use, alcohol-related use, and social media lurking/passive participation. Multinomial logistic regression was used to assess associations. Crude and adjusted odds ratios were reported.

RESULTS: Nearly all students (97%) used social media and 39% reported alcohol use. Regular alcohol use was significantly associated with moderate (OR = 2.22, CI: 1.35-3.66) and high level general social media use (OR = 2.45, CI: 1.43-4.20). Regular alcohol use was also associated with alcohol-related social media (OR = 6.46, CI: 4.04-10.30), and alcohol-related lurking (OR = 4.59, CI: 2.84-7.39). Similar, although weaker associations were identified for occasional alcohol use.

CONCLUSIONS: Approximately four in ten students reported alcohol use in the past year, and almost all students used social media. Alcohol-related social media use was associated with occasional and regular alcohol use, with stronger associations for regular use. These findings may guide further research and present an opportunity for potential alcohol control interventions to improve health among young populations in low- and middle-income countries.

Friends' and parents' tobacco use are strong predictors of tobacco uptake among adolescents, however the effectiveness of interventions based on public commitments and agreements to remain tobacco-free are not established. Here, we evaluated the effectiveness of the school-based Swedish program Tobacco-Free Duo (T-Duo) in preventing adolescents from initiating tobacco use (TOPAS study). T-Duo is a multi-component intervention with is a formal agreement between a student and an adult partner to remain tobacco-free during the entire 3-year study period as core component. The standardized educational component of the same program was used as comparator (control). Primary outcome was the probability to "remain a non-user" of i) cigarettes and secondary outcomes ii) other types of tobacco at second (21-month) follow-up. Analysis was conducted according to Intention To Treat. In total 1776 adolescents (51% female) aged 12-13 in grade 7 from 34 participating high schools in Sweden were included at baseline in 2018, of which 1489 were retained after 21 months. The Risk Ratio (RR) of not having tried cigarettes 21-months after initiation of the intervention was 1.03(CI 0.98-1.08), Bayes Factor(BF) = 0.93, Absolute Risk Difference(ARD) = 3.1%. Similar associations were found for never smoked a whole cigarette and never use of other tobacco/nicotine products. There was a minimal reduction of tobacco use initiation among Swedish adolescents assigned to a multi-component intervention (T-Duo) compared to those assigned to standardized classroom education after 2 schoolyears. However, for most outcomes' findings were inconclusive and not reliably different from zero.

BACKGROUND: As prevalence of tobacco use falls, socioeconomic inequalities in tobacco use are increasing in many high-income countries. Evidence is lacking on the effect of preventive interventions on socioeconomic inequalities in smoking initiation among adolescents. We evaluated whether a multicomponent school-based prevention programme with parental involvement has differential effects on smoking initiation across socioeconomic groups and affects the magnitude of socioeconomic inequalities in smoking initiation.

METHODS: A secondary analysis of data from a 3-year cluster randomised controlled trial, the TOPAS study, conducted in Sweden from 2018 to 2021. Schools were randomised either to the full programme (Tobacco-Free Duo, T-DUO) or minimal intervention (EDU). The analysis was conducted according to intention to treat for the primary outcome, the probability of remaining a non-user of cigarettes at the end of compulsory school (ages 15-16). Parents' educational attainment was the socioeconomic variable. Differential effects were analysed by comparing adolescents exposed to T-DUO with those exposed to EDU within each socioeconomic group. The effect of the intervention on the magnitude of inequalities was analysed by comparing several measures of absolute and relative inequalities between T-DUO and EDU.

RESULTS: At the end of follow-up, the full programme had a similar, at most moderate effect on smoking initiation in all socioeconomic groups (relative risk 1.13 (95% CI 1.02 to 1.25) in the middle group). The programme did not significantly affect the magnitude of inequalities (Slope Index of Inequality difference 1.49 (95% CI -15.34 to 18.32)).

DISCUSSION: Socioeconomic inequalities in smoking initiation remain substantial. Our results indicate the absence of an effect of the programme T-DUO on these inequalities.

To estimate the effect of a 3-year commitment to remain tobacco free on tobacco uptake among high school students in Sweden. The commitment is developed in the form of a contract between a child and a significant adult, constituting the core component of Tobacco-free Duo (T-Duo), a Swedish school-based tobacco prevention program. Secondary analysis of data from a cluster randomized controlled trial. Participants were 586 students in high schools assigned to the intervention arm of T-Duo. At inception, participants attended grade 7 (i.e., age 12–13). Only students who were tobacco naïve at baseline for the respective outcome and participated in all follow-ups were included. The exposure was defined as signing a 3-year contract with a significant adult, categorized as “stable contract” (3 years contract with the same contract partner), “unstable” (signed a contract sometime during follow-up but this was not sustained over time and/or with the same partner), and “no contract” at all during the intervention period. The primary outcome was having never tried cigarette smoking at the end of grade 9. Exposure and outcomes were self-reported in yearly questionnaires. Of 586 students, 321 (55%) held a stable contract, 204 (35%) an unstable contract, and 61 (10%) did not sign a contract at all. At the end of grade 9 (age 15–16), the relative risk (RR) to remain cigarette free was 1.11 (95% CI 1.00–1.22) (Number Needed to Treat = 10) among students in any type of contract compared to students that did not write a contract at all. The RRs for remaining tobacco free (secondary outcomes) ranged from 1.07 (0.98–1.16) for regular snus use to 1.16 (1.00–1.35) for any type of tobacco use. A commitment to remain tobacco free through a child–adult contract seems to exert a preventive effect on the uptake of tobacco use among Swedish adolescents over 3 school years. The current findings apply to a selected sample of both schools and students.

Registration: Current Controlled Trials ISRCTN52858080 Date: January 4, 2019, retrospectively registered.

Den idéburna organisationen A Non Smoking Generation utvecklade under 2010–2017 ett kunskaps- och teoribaserat tobaksförebyggande flerkomponentsprogram för grund- och gymnasieskola tillsammans med en tvärvetenskaplig rådgivande forskargrupp. Här beskrivs programutvecklingsarbetet och genomförandet i fyra svenska kommuner, graden av engagemang och stöd för genomförandet samt elevernas syn på policy och lagar rörande tobak. Programmets teoretiska ramverk utgick från teorier och kunskap om förändringsberedskap, risk- och skyddsfaktorer, implementering, samt den processmodell som utvecklades och tillämpades i projektet. Alla skolor i kommunerna gick under projekttiden från att ha en lägre förändringsberedskap att arbeta tobaksförebyggande till en högre. I slutet av projektet var de tobaksspecifika skyddsfaktorerna inkluderade i tobakspolicys som tillämpades och andelen elever som kände till tobakspolicyn hade ökat. Resultaten visade också att kommunernas skolor hade kunnat tillämpa och kommit långt i arbetet med processmodellen. Av intervjuerna framkom att de var mycket nöjda med modellen och ansåg att den var lätt att arbeta utifrån och hålla fast vid i framtida arbete.

Background: Exposure to heat stress is a documented risk for Central American sugarcane harvesters. However, little is known about heat-related illness in this population.

Methods: This study examined the frequency of heat-related health effects among harvesters (n = 106) exposed to occupational heat stress compared to non-harvesters (n = 63). Chi-square test and gamma statistic were used to evaluate differences in self-reported symptoms and trends over heat exposure categories.

Results: Heat and dehydration symptoms (headache, tachycardia, muscle cramps, fever, nausea, difficulty breathing, dizziness, swelling of hands/feet, and dysuria) were experienced at least once per week significantly more frequently among harvesters. Percentages of workers reporting heat and dehydration symptoms increased in accordance with increasing heat exposure categories.

Conclusions: A large percentage of harvesters are experiencing heat illness throughout the harvest demonstrating an urgent need for improved workplace practices, particularly in light of climate change and the epidemic of chronic kidney disease prevalent in this population.

BACKGROUND: Occupational heat stress is a major concern in sugarcane production and has been hypothesized as a causal factor of a chronic kidney disease epidemic in Central America. This study described working conditions of sugarcane harvesters in Costa Rica and quantified their exposure to heat.

METHODS: Non-participatory observation and Wet Bulb Globe Temperatures (WBGT) according to Spanish NTP (Technical Prevention Notes) guidelines were utilized to quantify the risk of heat stress. OSHA recommendations were used to identify corresponding exposure limit values.

RESULTS: Sugarcane harvesters carried out labor-intensive work with a metabolic load of 261 W/m(2) (6.8 kcal/min), corresponding to a limit value of 26° WBGT which was reached by 7:30 am on most days. After 9:15 am, OSHA recommendations would require that workers only work 25% of each hour to avoid health risks from heat.

CONCLUSIONS: Sugarcane harvesters are at risk for heat stress for the majority of the work shift. Immediate action is warranted to reduce such exposures.

This article argues that human health has become a key consideration in recent global reports on climate change and biodiversity produced by various international organisations; however, greater attention must be given to the unequal health impacts of climate change and biodiversity loss around the world and the different health adaptation measures that are urgently required.

Through their consumption behavior, households are responsible for 72% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Thus, they are key actors in reaching the 1.5°C goal under the Paris Agreement. However, the possible contribution and position of households in climate policies is neither well understood, nor do households receive sufficiently high priority in current climate policy strategies. This paper investigates how behavioral change can achieve a substantial reduction in greenhouse gas emissions in European high-income countries. It uses theoretical thinking and some core results from the HOPE research project, which investigated household preferences for reducing emissions in four European cities in France, Germany, Norway and Sweden. The paper makes five major points: First, car and plane mobility, meat and dairy consumption, as well as heating are the most dominant components of household footprints. Second, household living situations (demographics, size of home) greatly influence the household potential to reduce their footprint, even more than country or city location. Third, household decisions can be sequential and temporally dynamic, shifting through different phases such as childhood, adulthood, and illness. Fourth, short term voluntary efforts will not be sufficient by themselves to achieve the drastic reductions needed to achieve the 1.5°C goal; instead, households need a regulatory framework supporting their behavioral changes. Fifth, there is a mismatch between the roles and responsibilities conveyed by current climate policies and household perceptions of responsibility. We then conclude with further recommendations for research and policy.

Effekterna av klimatförändringarna blir allt tydligare. Påverkan på människors hälsa av klimatförändringarna är betydande; tillgång på mat och rent vatten påverkas, infektionspanoramat förändras, och förekomsten av extrema väderhändelser ökar. Indirekt kan detta leda till dramatiska samhälleliga förändringar, t ex genom ökande flyktingströmmar. Scenarierna är alarmerande. Det finns fortfarande en möjlighet att påverka denna utveckling, men det är bråttom!De viktigaste åtgärderna för att minska klimatpåverkan bidrar också till bättre hälsa, på så sätt en ”win-win situation”. Målet med den aktuella rapporten är därför att lyfta fram åtgärder som väsentligt kan minska risken för allvarliga klimatförändringar men också sådana som samtidigt förbättrar människors hälsa. Den belyser därför speciellt hälsoeffekter av förbränning av fossila bränslen och hälsovinster med minskad köttkonsumtion. Vi beskriver översiktligt vad som orsakar klimatförändringarna och sammanfattar den aktuella vetenskapliga litteraturen om hur ett förändrat klimat kommer att påverka folkhälsan om inte kraftfulla åtgärder sätts in, först och främst för att minska temperaturökningarna, men också om vi inte förbereder oss för ett varmare klimat. Vi vill också presentera möjligheter för vad man inom sjukvården kan göra för att minska klimatpåverkan.Åtgärder som bidrar till att minska klimatpåverkan, dvs primärprevention, framstår tydligt som det klokaste och mest ekonomiska alternativet, och har som rapporten visar också andra positiva effekter på folkhälsan. Detta hindrar inte att vi redan nu samtidigt måste förbereda oss för högre temperaturer, för att undvika eller åtminstone begränsa de alarmerande hälso-scenarier som är att vänta om temperaturen tillåts stiga 1.5°C eller mer, som tagit fram av ledande forskare i Europa.Rapporten bygger huvudsakligen på IPPCs senaste rapporter [1, 2], slutsatser från ”Lancet Commission on Health and Climate Change” [3, 4], rapporten ”The imperative of climate action to protect human health in Europe”, från European Academies' Science Advisory Council [5], samt en sammanställning över prioriteringar för begränsa hälsoeffekter av klimatförändringar från WHO Europa [6] med tillägg av vissa referenser som nyligen publicerats.

BACKGROUND: The Arctic area is a part of the globe where the increase in global temperature has had the earliest noticeable effect and indigenous peoples, including the Swedish reindeer herding Sami, are amongst the first to be affected by these changes.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the experiences and perceptions of climate change among Swedish reindeer herding Sami.

STUDY DESIGN: In-depth interviews with 14 Swedish reindeer herding Sami were performed, with purposive sampling. The interviews focused on the herders experiences of climate change, observed consequences and thoughts about this. The interviews were analysed using content analysis.

RESULTS: ONE CORE THEME EMERGED FROM THE INTERVIEWS: facing the limit of resilience. Swedish reindeer-herding Sami perceive climate change as yet another stressor in their daily struggle. They have experienced severe and more rapidly shifting, unstable weather with associated changes in vegetation and alterations in the freeze-thaw cycle, all of which affect reindeer herding. The forecasts about climate change from authorities and scientists have contributed to stress and anxiety. Other societal developments have lead to decreased flexibility that obstructs adaptation. Some adaptive strategies are discordant with the traditional life of reindeer herding, and there is a fear among the Sami of being the last generation practising traditional reindeer herding.

CONCLUSIONS: The study illustrates the vulnerable situation of the reindeer herders and that climate change impact may have serious consequences for the trade and their overall way of life. Decision makers on all levels, both in Sweden and internationally, need improved insights into these complex issues to be able to make adequate decisions about adaptive climate change strategies.

Significant climate change in the Arctic has been observed by indigenous peoples and reported in scientific literature, but there has been little research comparing these two knowledge bases. In this study, Sami reindeer herder interviews and observational weather data were combined to provide a comprehensive description of climate changes in Northern Sweden. The interviewees described warmer winters, shorter snow seasons and cold periods, and increased temperature variability. Weather data supported three of these four observed changes; the only change not evident in the weather data was increased temperature variability. Winter temperatures increased, the number of days in cold periods was significantly reduced, and some stations displayed a 2 month-shorter snow cover season. Interviewees reported that these changes to the wintertime climate are significant, impact their identity, and threaten their livelihood. If consistency between human observations of changing weather patterns and the instrumental meteorological record is observed elsewhere, mixed methods research like this study can produce a clearer, more societally relevant understanding of how the climate is changing and the impacts of those changes on human well-being.

BACKGROUND: Universal tobacco-prevention programs targeting youths usually involve significant adults, who are assumed to be important social influences. Commitment not to use tobacco, or to quit use, as a formal contract between an adolescent and a significant adult is a preventive model that has not been widely practiced or explored and has been formally evaluated even less. In this paper, we present the rationale and protocol for the evaluation of the Swedish Tobacco-free Duo program, a multicomponent school-based program the core of which rests on a formal agreement between an adolescent and an adult. The adolescent's commitment mainly concerns avoiding the onset of any tobacco use while the adult commits to support the adolescent in staying tobacco free, being a role model by not using tobacco themselves.

OBJECTIVE: To assess (1) whether Tobacco-free Duo is superior to an education-only program in preventing smoking onset among adolescents and promoting cessation among their parents, (2) whether exposure to core components (adult-child agreement) entails more positive effects than exposure to other components, (3) the impact of the program on whole school tobacco use, (4) potential negative side effects, and (5) school-level factors related to fidelity of the program's implementation.

METHODS: A mixed-design approach was developed. First, a cluster randomized controlled trial was designed with schools randomly assigned to either the comprehensive multicomponent program or its educational component only. Primary outcome at the adolescent level was identified as not having tried tobacco during the 3-year junior high school compulsory grades (12-15 years of age). An intention-to-treat cohort-wise approach and an as-treated approach complemented with a whole school repeated cross-sectional approach was devised as analytical methods of the trial data. Second, an observational study was added in order to compare smoking incidence in the schools participating in the experiment with that of a convenience sample of schools that were not part of the experimental study. Diverse secondary outcomes at both adolescent and adult levels were also included.

RESULTS: The study was approved by the Umeå Regional Ethics Review Board (registration number 2017/255-31) in 2017. Recruitment of schools started in fall 2017 and continued until June 2018. In total, 43 schools were recruited to the experimental study, and 16 schools were recruited to the observational study. Data collection started in the fall 2018, is ongoing, and is planned to be finished in spring 2021.

CONCLUSIONS: Methodological, ethical, and practical implications of the evaluation protocol were discussed, especially the advantage of combining several sources of data, to triangulate the study questions. The results of these studies will help revise the agenda of this program as well as those of similar programs.

TRIAL REGISTRATION: International Standard Randomized Controlled Trial Number (ISRCTN) 52858080; https://doi.org/10.1186/ISRCTN52858080.

INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT IDENTIFIER (IRRID): DERR1-10.2196/21100.

Climate change can have detrimental effects on child health and wellbeing. Despite the imperative for a fuller understanding of how climate change affects child health and wellbeing, a systematic approach and focus solely on children (aged <18 years) has been lacking. In this Scoping Review, we did a literature search on the impacts of climate change on child health from January, 2000, to June, 2019. The included studies explicitly linked an alteration of an exposure to a risk factor for child health to climate change or climate variability. In total, 2970 original articles, reviews, and other documents were identified, of which 371 were analysed. Employing an expanded framework, our analysis showed that the effects of climate change on child health act through direct and indirect pathways, with implications for determinants of child health as well as morbidity and mortality from a range of diseases. This understanding can be further enhanced by using a broader range of research methods, studying overlooked populations and geographical regions, investigating the costs and benefits of mitigation and adaptation for child health, and considering the position of climate change and child health within the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Present and future generations of children bear and will continue to bear an unacceptably high disease burden from climate change.

Children are bearing and will continue to bear a high burden from climate change, through directand indirect pathways. Climate change adaptation interventions are essential to limit the currentand projected impacts of climate change on child health. However, the perspective of children andtheir health with regards to adaptation in research and policy is limited. Ensuring that adaptationinterventions are context specific, consider interrelated barriers to implementation and leverageexisting structures including multisectoral collaboration is vital. Further, a life-course perspectiveon child health and well-being could serve as a template for tailoring adaptation interventions tothe specific vulnerabilities and needs of specific development periods of the child. A meaningfulengagement of children and young persons in the design and implementation of adaptationinterventions is essential to increase effectiveness and uptake. With climate change effectingmillions of children worldwide, it is high time to put child health at the center of adaptation.

Background: It is now universally acknowledged that climate change constitutes a major threat to human health. At the same time, some of the measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, so-called climate change mitigation measures, have significant health co-benefits (e.g., walking or cycling more; eating less meat). The goal of limiting global warming to 1,5° Celsius set by the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in Paris in 2015 can only be reached if all stakeholders, including households, take actions to mitigate climate change. Results on whether framing mitigation measures in terms of their health co-benefits increases the likelihood of their implementation are inconsistent. The present study protocol describes the transdisciplinary project HOPE (HOuseholds’ Preferences for reducing greenhouse gas emissions in four European high-income countries) that investigates the role of health co-benefits in households’ decision making on climate change mitigation measures in urban households in France, Germany, Norway and Sweden.

Methods: HOPE employs a mixed-methods approach combining status-quo carbon footprint assessments, simulations of the reduction of households’ carbon footprints, and qualitative in-depth interviews with a subgroup of households. Furthermore, a policy analysis of current household oriented climate policies is conducted. In the simulation of the reduction of households’ carbon footprints, half of the households are provided with information on health co-benefits of climate change mitigation measures, the other half is not. Households’ willingness to implement the measures is assessed and compared in between-group analyses of variance.

Discussion: This is one of the first comprehensive mixed-methods approaches to investigate which mitigation measures households are most willing to implement in order to reach the 1,5° target set by the Paris Agreement, and whether health co-benefits can serve as a motivator for households to implement these measures. The comparison of the empirical data with current climate policies will provide knowledge for tailoring effective climate change mitigation and health policies.

Household lifestyles are the main drivers of climate change. Climate change mitigation measures directed to households often have substantial health co-benefits. The European mixed-methods study HOPE (HOuseholds' Preferences for reducing greenhouse gas emissions in four European high-income countries) investigates households' preferences for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and particularly researches the role of information on health co-benefits in households' decision making. The results presented in this study are derived from 18 qualitative interviews, conducted with a subsample of households from Mannheim, Germany. The in-depth interviews were transcribed verbatim, analyzed with a qualitative content analysis, supported by NVivo software. They showed that, in order to reduce their greenhouse gas emission in a way compatible with the 1.5 °C goal, households have to undertake a difficult balancing act, considering factors from the individual sphere, such as health co-benefits, as well as from the public sphere, such as (climate) policies. Shared responsibility and equity are important aspects of households. In conclusion, health is an important factor in households' decision making. However, information policies about health co-benefits need to go along with structural policy measures, in order to support households effectively in the implementation of healthy and climate-friendly lifestyles, especially in sectors where behavior change is difficult, like the mobility sector.

BACKGROUND: The healthcare sector is a significant contributor to global carbon emissions, in part due to extensive travelling by patients and health workers.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the potential of telemedicine services based on videoconferencing technology to reduce travelling and thus carbon emissions in the healthcare sector.

METHODS: A life cycle inventory was performed to evaluate the carbon reduction potential of telemedicine activities beyond a reduction in travel related emissions. The study included two rehabilitation units at Umeå University Hospital in Sweden. Carbon emissions generated during telemedicine appointments were compared with care-as-usual scenarios. Upper and lower bound emissions scenarios were created based on different teleconferencing solutions and thresholds for when telemedicine becomes favorable were estimated. Sensitivity analyses were performed to pinpoint the most important contributors to emissions for different set-ups and use cases.

RESULTS: Replacing physical visits with telemedicine appointments resulted in a significant 40-70 times decrease in carbon emissions. Factors such as meeting duration, bandwidth and use rates influence emissions to various extents. According to the lower bound scenario, telemedicine becomes a greener choice at a distance of a few kilometers when the alternative is transport by car.

CONCLUSIONS: Telemedicine is a potent carbon reduction strategy in the health sector. But to contribute significantly to climate change mitigation, a paradigm shift might be required where telemedicine is regarded as an essential component of ordinary health care activities and not only considered to be a service to the few who lack access to care due to geography, isolation or other constraints.

Climate change is one of today's most pressing global issues. Policies to guide mitigation and adaptation are needed to avoid the devastating impacts of climate change. The health sector is a significant contributor to greenhouse gas emissions in developed countries, and its climate impact in low-income countries is growing steadily. This paper reviews and discusses the literature regarding health sector mitigation potential, known and hypothetical co-benefits, and the potential of health information technology, such as eHealth, in climate change mitigation and adaptation. The promising role of eHealth as an adaptation strategy to reduce societal vulnerability to climate change, and the link's between mitigation and adaptation, are also discussed. The topic of environmental eHealth has gained little attention to date, despite its potential to contribute to more sustainable and green health care. A growing number of local and global initiatives on 'green information and communication technology (ICT)' are now mentioning eHealth as a promising technology with the potential to reduce emission rates from ICT use. However, the embracing of eHealth is slow because of limitations in technological infrastructure, capacity and political will. Further research on potential emissions reductions and co-benefits with green ICT, in terms of health outcomes and economic effectiveness, would be valuable to guide development and implementation of eHealth in health sector mitigation and adaptation policies.

Hbtq-diplomeringen i Region Västerbotten ämnar bidra till ett strukturerat och långsiktigt arbete med hbtq (homosexuella, bisexuella, trans- och queerpersoner), normer och jämlikhet inom regionens verksamheter. Detta arbete sker både utifrån ett patientperspektiv, ett arbetsmiljöperspektiv och ett verksamhetsperspektiv. Denna rapport fokuserar på patientperspektivet och fokuserar på upplevelser av hbtq-diplomerade sjukvårdskliniker inom Region Västerbotten. 

Inom ramen för studien har 12 intervjuer genomförts med hbtq-personer som har erfarenheter från någon av regionens diplomerade kliniker. Intervjuerna har analyserats med hjälp av tematisk analys. 

Intervjuerna representerar olika erfarenheter av regionens hbtq diplomering, men också olika åsikter och perspektiv. Vissa menar att hbtq diplomering är bra och viktigt, något alla kliniker bör genomgå medan andra har en mer avvaktade hållning och delvis problematiserar fenomenet. Men i stort framkommer positiva erfarenheter av kliniker i Västerbotten som hbtq-diplomerats. Hbtq- kompetens beskrivs ofta i relation till bemötandefrågor men det är tydligt utifrån deltagarnas erfarenheter att ett gott möte med vården inbegriper fler aspekter. Förutom vikten av att ett respektfullt bemötande som undviker normativa antaganden kom medicinsk/klinisk kunskap upp och även kunskaper om hbtq-personers livsvillkor. Deltagarna berör flera faktorer som de menar påverkar fler vårdsökande men kan få större konsekvenser för hbtq-personer, exempelvis att bo i ett stads- eller landsbygdsområde eller ha invandrarbakgrund. Brist på kontinuitet bland vårdgivare beskrivs tvinga hbtq-personer att komma ut om och om igen och brist på resurser och stressad personal upplevs göra personalen mer benägen att återgå till ett mer normativt bemötande, det vill säga utgå ifrån cis- och heteronormativa antaganden. 

Utifrån intervjuerna framkommer förbättringspotentialer. Ibland handlar det om enskilda vårdgivare som behöver fortbildas och ibland behövs det rutiner för att exempelvis dokumentera saker i journalen. En önskan om hbtq-kompetent gynekologisk vård återkommer och det påpekas att det saknas klinisk kunskap om exempelvis STI och risk för cervixcancer i relation till lesbiska sexuella praktiker, även på diplomerade kliniker. Det är viktigt att diplomeringen uppdateras och att alla på kliniken är utbildade, annars skapas en känsla av att diplomeringen inte spelar någon roll. På samma sätt är det viktigt att diplomeringen inte enbart blir symboler och skrivna ord, det är viktigt att klinikerna faktiskt besitter hbtq-kompetens som omsätts i adekvat vård till hbtq-personer. 

BACKGROUND: Seasonal influenza affects from 5 to 15% of the world's population annually and causes an estimated 250,000-500,000 deaths worldwide. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends 'sentinel surveillance' for influenza-like illness (ILI) because it is simple and calls for standardized methods at a relatively low cost that can be implemented throughout the world. In Vietnam, ILI is a key priority for public health also because of its annually recurring temporal pattern. Two major factors, on which the spread of influenza depends, are the strain of the virus and its rate of mutation, since flu strains constantly mutate as they compete with host immune systems. In the context of global climate change, the role of climatic factors has been discussed, as they may significantly contribute to the cause of large outbreaks of ILI. OBJECTIVES: 1) To describe the epidemiology of ILI in Ha Nam province, Vietnam; 2) to seek scientific evidence on the association of ILI occurrence with weather factors in Ha Nam province; and 3) to analyze factors from the Ha Nam ILI surveillance system that contribute to explaining the correlation between the ILI and the weather factors. DESIGN: A data set of 89,270 monthly reported ILI cases from 2008 to 2012 in Ha Nam was used to describe ILI epidemiological characteristics. Spearman correlation analyses between ILI cases and weather factors were conducted to identify which preceding period of months and weather patterns influenced the occurrence of ILI cases. Ten in-depth interviews with health workers in charge of recording and reporting ILI cases at different levels of the ILI surveillance system were conducted to gain a deeper understanding of factors contributing to explaining the relation between the ILI and the weather factors. RESULTS: The results indicated that the ILI occurred annually in all districts of the Ha Nam province in the five studied years. An epidemic occurred in 2009 with the number of cases three times higher than the average threshold. There was a relation between the ILI cases in the previous 1 month with ILI cases of the following month. A seasonal cycle of ILI and correlation between weather elements were not clearly detected. A qualitative study showed that the number of ILI cases reported by the Provincial Preventive Medicine Centre (PPMC) in Ha Nam might not have reflected the accurate number of seasonal ILI occurring in this area. This was due to three gaps in the ILI surveillance system that initially were detected through key in-depth interviews in the Duy Tien and Binh Luc districts. They reported inconsistent ways of recording and reporting ILI cases among communes, lack of ILI survey forms, and irregular and delayed feedback from the PPMC. CONCLUSIONS: There were no clear patterns of association between weather factors and ILI cases detected from the five studied years. The number of ILI cases reported by the PPMC in Ha Nam may not reflect adequately the actual number of seasonal ILI occurring in this area due to three weak points in the ILI surveillance system initially detected through the case of the Duy Tien and Binh Luc districts. These three weak points of the system should be examined by a study conducted in the remaining districts in Ha Nam.

En hållbar utveckling är beroende av att människor har en god hälsa. Det ären förutsättning för de flesta förändringar som behövs för att uppnå en globalhållbar utveckling från global till lokal nivå. Under de senaste årtiondenahar kunskapen ökat om klimatförändringens påverkan på människors hälsa.Frågan är inte längre ”om” utan istället om ”när, var och hur mycket” klimatförändringenredan påverkar och kommer att fortsatt påverka människors hälsaoch välmående. Effekterna av klimatförändringen på sjukdomsbörda och förtidig död globalt ses framförallt i låg- och medelinkomstländer. Barn är generelltmer sårbara för klimatförändringens hälsoeffekter och bär en stor andelav sjukdomsbördan, men andra sårbara är äldre, gravida, och människor somredan lider av sjukdomar som hjärtkärlsjukdom, diabetes, lungsjukdom ochpsykisk ohälsa. Samtidigt med att kunskapen sjunker in om att klimatförändringeninnebär ett allvarligt hot mot global folkhälsa kan medvetenheten omatt bonuseffekter på hälsa åstadkoms vid klimatomställning och klimatanpassningmotivera till tydliga och snabba åtgärder.

There is a robust evidence base for the negative health effects from smoking. Smoking is linked to severe morbidity and to mortality, and kills up to half of its regular users. Tobacco use and production also bring other negative consequences such as economic loss for countries, poverty for individuals, child labour, deforestation and other environmental problems in tobacco growing countries.

 A combination of comprehensive interventions at different levels is needed to curb the tobacco epidemic. Tobacco control strategies at national levels in the western world often include components of information/education, taxation, legislative measures and influencing public opinion. Two approaches have dominated at the meso and micro levels: cessation support for tobacco users and prevention activities to support young people refraining from tobacco use. Smoking uptake is a complex process that includes factors at the societal level as well as social and individual characteristics.  At national level, taxation and legislation can contribute to a societal norm opposing tobacco and creating a context for primary prevention aimed at tobacco free youth.  There is no magic bullet in primary prevention.  At the meso and micro levels, a continued development of knowledge on the underlying mechanisms and primary prevention methods is essential to prevent young people from starting to use tobacco.

 The overall aim of this thesis was to gain knowledge about factors that influence young people’s use of tobacco and of preventive mechanisms.  The specific aims included to study the relation between Tobacco Free Duo, an intervention program targeting youth in Västerbotten County, and tobacco use prevalence.  A specific interest was to explore the role adults can play in supporting young people to refrain from tobacco use.

 The thesis is based on four studies with three separate sets of data, two were quantitative and one was qualitative. The studies were conducted among adolescents (aged 13-15 yr) in Västerbotten County and on national level in Sweden (aged 13, 15 and 17 yr).

 Tobacco Free Duo is a school-based community intervention that started in 1993. An essential component of the intervention was to involve adults in supporting adolescents to stay tobacco free. Results showed decreased smoking in adolescents among both boys and girls in the intervention area during the study period of seven years.  There was no change in a national reference group during the same time period. A bonus effect was a decrease in adult tobacco use in the intervention area. One out of four adults who supported a young person taking part in the intervention stopped using tobacco. In a qualitative assessment of young smokers, starting to smoke was described as a means of gaining control of their feelings and their situation during early adolescence. They expected adults to intervene against their smoking and claimed that close relations with caring adults could be a reason for smoking less or trying to quit smoking.  In a quantitative study that used three decades of national data, over time adolescents became more positive toward parental action on children’s smoking. The adolescents strongly supported the idea of parental action, regardless of whether or not they themselves smoked. Adolescents preferred that actions from parents were dissuading their children from smoking, not smoking themselves, and not allowing their children to smoke at home.

 These results suggest that the Tobacco Free Duo program contributed to a reduction in adolescent smoking among both boys and girls.  Using a multi-faceted intervention that includes an adolescent-adult partnership can decrease adolescent smoking uptake.  Engaging adults as partners in tobacco prevention interventions that target adolescents has an important tobacco reducing bonus effect in the adults. The intervention has proven sustainable within communities.  A growing majority of adolescents support parental interventions to help them refrain from tobacco.  The findings dismiss the notion that adolescents ignore or even disdain parental practices concerning tobacco. A common and consequent norm against tobacco from both schools and parents using a supportive attitude can prevent tobacco use in young people.

Young smokers described starting to smoke as a means of gaining control of feelings and situations during early adolescence. Smoking adolescents expect adults to intervene against smoking. Close relations with concerned adults could be a reason for less frequent smoking or trying to quit smoking. Interventions aimed at normative changes, with consistent messages from both schools and parents about the negative aspects of tobacco seem to be a feasible approach for preventing youth from using tobacco.

I Sverige har tobaksförebyggande program med ungdomar som målgrupp under många år initierats, utvecklats och drivits av kommuner, regioner, och den ideella sektorn. Antalet vetenskapliga studier om tobaksförebyggande arbete i landet som publicerats i vetenskapliga tidskrifter är mycket få och har främst genomförts med en kvasiexperimentell design. Tobaksfri duo (T-Duo) har spridits i landet och önskemål har uttryckts om en utvärdering med metodik som ger högre evidensgrad jämfört med de studier som genomförts tidigare. Genom Topasprojektet har en sådan utvärdering av användningen av programmets kärnkomponenter möjliggjorts. Studien har genomförts av Umeå universitet och Karolinska Institutet på uppdrag av Folkhälsomyndigheten. Den hade en blandad design: 1) en klusterrandomiserad kontrollerad studie (CRCT) där skolor tilldelades programmet T-Duos sex kärnkomponenter eller en minimal komponent i form av Strukturerad undervisning, 2) en observationsstudie där programskolor jämfördes med skolor i en extern referensgrupp samt 3) en hälsoekonomisk utvärdering av programmets kostnadseffekt.

Studiens övergripande syfte var att utvärdera effekterna och kostnaderna av programmet T-Duos sex kärnkomponenter genom att besvara följande specifika frågeställningar:

1. Påverkas ungas tobaksdebut och tobaksanvändning av programmet? - d.v.s. är den förebyggande effekten större om man arbetar med programmet jämfört med en minimal komponent, alternativt ordinarie ANDT-undervisning i skolan?
2. Påverkar deltagande i programmet vårdnadshavares tobaksbruk?
3. Har graden av implementering av programmet betydelse för effekten?
4. Är effekterna sådana att programkostnaderna är motiverade?

Resultaten från studien visar att det fullständiga programmet T-Duo förknippas med en måttlig förebyggande effekt på högstadieelevers tobaksdebut (cirka 8 % större sannolikhet att förbli rökfria efter tre år), jämfört med om man enbart bedrev undervisning om tobak enligt programmet som ingick i Topas kontrollgrupp Undervisningsskolor (U-skolor). Resultaten kan dock ha påverkats av vissa systematiska fel, dels bortfall, dels beroende på självrapportering.

Kontraktet som skrevs mellan ett barn och en vuxen 18 år eller äldre som barnet själv valde som vuxenpartner i T-Duo visade sig vara en effektiv komponent om kontraktet kunde upprätthållas under samtliga år. Komponenten innehåller tre delar kopplat till kontraktet, i) dels en möjlighet till stöd från en vuxen som barnet själv valt, att barnet ii) vid kontraktsskrivning gör ett åtagande inför andra om att man inte ska använda tobak under de kommande tre åren och slutligen iii) möjligheten för barnet att delta i utlottning av mindre priser och till rabatter (på till exempel skolfiket).

Resultaten indikerade också att T-Duo kan påverka tobaksbruk på gruppnivå, det vill säga på skolnivå, på ett positivt sätt över tid. Med andra ord att alla elever på en skola som jobbade med T-Duo påverkades av programmet och inte bara de som deltog.Vad gällde vårdnadshavare (VH) i T-skolor sågs en möjlig effekt avseende tobaksstopp, det vill säga att de få deltagare som använde tobak i början av studien och som var kvar i slutet slutade använda tobak i större utsträckning än föräldrar i skolor lottade till enbart undervisningskomponenten. Dock måste resultaten tolkas med stor försiktighet på grund av det låga antalet VH som svarade på enkäten. Av denna anledning är det inte möjligt att säga om VH som tecknade kontrakt med sina barn hade större sannolikhet att förbli tobaksfria eller inte, eftersom andelen tobaksbrukare i gruppen som tecknade kontraktet med sina barn redan från början var mycket låg och betydligt lägre än bland resterande VH.

Mycket få skolor hade implementerat programmet T-Duo helt enligt manualen för studien. Implementeringen var oftast måttlig, dvs att man hade genomfört mer än två kärnkomponenter enligt manualen, dock inte alla. Graden av implementering påverkade dock inte resultaten.

I beräkningen av kostnadseffektivitet relaterades skillnaden i kostnader mellan T-skolor och U-skolor till den beräknade effekten i termer av hur många fler barn som förblev rökfria på grund av programmet. Det treåriga programmet kostade 785 kr per exponerat barn på T-skolorna och endast strukturerad undervisning kostade 491 kr per barn på U-skolorna. T-Duo kostade därmed 294 kr mer per barn jämfört med endast Strukturerad undervisning och kostnadseffektiviteten uppskattades till 5 066 kr för varje ytterligare barn som var rökfri i slutet på årskurs nio. Om effekten kvarstår fram till vuxen ålder representerar T-duo en mycket bra användning av resurserna i förhållande till framtida konsekvenser på hälsan som vuxen. Osäkerheten rörande programeffekten och om effekten kommer att bestå är avgörande för denna slutsats.

The evidence on negative consequences from climate change on human health and well-being is growing. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) described climate change as a threat to the climate system that sets the basis for life and human health conditions. The changing climate is expected to affect basic requirements needed to support and sustain human health such as good food, clean water, and unpolluted air, with negative effects that are expected to be unequally distributed.

Weather, climate, and climate change are affecting human health, with scientific evidence increasing substantially over the past two decades, but with very limited research from low- and middle-income countries. The health effects of climate change occur mainly because of the consequences of rising temperatures, rising sea levels, and an increase in extreme weather events. These exposures interact with demographic, socio-economic, and environmental factors, as well as access to and the quality of health care, to affect the magnitude and pattern of risks. Health risks are unevenly distributed around the world, and within countries and across population groups. Existing health challenges and inequalities are likely to be exacerbated by climate change. This narrative review provides an overview of the health impacts of weather, climate, and climate change, particularly on vulnerable regions and populations in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, and discusses the importance of protecting human health in a changing climate; such measures are critical to reducing poverty and inequality at all scales. Three case summaries from the INDEPTH Health and Demographic Surveillance Systems highlight examples of research that quantified associations between weather and health outcomes. These and comparable surveillance systems can provide critical knowledge to increase resilience and decrease inequalities in an increasingly warming world.

Purpose To assess the effects of a long-term intervention for tobacco use prevention that targets adolescents (Tobacco Free Duo).

Methods School-based community intervention combined with repeated cross-sectional surveys over 7 years. The intervention was performed in the County of Västerbotten, Sweden, where survey data were collected in grade seven to nine schools on an annual basis for 7 years. Data for comparison were collected in grade nine on the national level in Sweden. In the intervention area, the annual number of seventh to ninth grade students participating in the study varied between 1300 and 1650. In the reference data, the number of participating ninth grade students approximated 4500 annually.

Results A significant decrease of nearly 50% was seen in smoking prevalence in the intervention area. The decrease was evident in grades eight and nine (ages 14–15 years) in both boys and girls. At the start of the intervention, smoking prevalence in grade nine was 16.1% in the intervention area and 23% in the national reference group. Although the prevalence in the national sample remained stable, there was a decrease to 9.0% in the intervention area at the end of the study period.

Conclusions These results suggest that the Tobacco Free Duo program contributed to a reduction in adolescent smoking among both boys and girls. Using a multi-faceted intervention that includes adolescent–adult partnership can reduce adolescent smoking uptake, and the intervention has been proven to be sustainable within communities.

This paper aims to assess program bonus effects on adult tobacco use from a long term intervention that targeted adolescent tobacco use. The school-based community intervention started in Västerbotten County in Sweden in 1993 and adults were invited to support adolescents to stay tobacco-free. It was combined with repeated cross-sectional surveys in schools annually 1994-1999 among grades 7-9 and after 1999 every second year. Participating schools were randomly selected before the first survey representing both rural and urban settings. Out of 4,055 students, 1,008 (24.8%) reported that their supporting adult had been a tobacco user who quit tobacco in order to be allowed to participate. Out of these, 13.2% used tobacco daily before joining. The remaining 2,997 students’ adult partners were not tobacco users. Engaging tobacco using adults as partners in interventions targeting adolescent tobacco use seem to have a considerable tobacco-reducing bonus effect in the adults.

Background: Parents play a vital role as children develop tobacco behaviours. Many parents feel unsure about their possibility to influence their teenager's lifestyle. Knowledge about young people's acceptance for parental intervention could increase parental involvement. The overall objective of this study was to explore adolescents' perceptions and expectations of parental action regarding children's smoking and snus use, and whether they have changed over time. To see if there were differences whether the adolescent was a tobacco user or not the adolescents' tobacco use was followed; and described to put the findings on their perceptions and expectations of parental action in a context.

Methods: The study used a repeated cross-sectional design, reporting Swedish national data from three decades. Data were collected in 1987, 1994 and 2003 by a questionnaire mailed to homes, in total to 13500 persons. The annual samples, which were random and national representative, consisted of 4500 young people aged 13, 15 and 17 yr, 1500 individuals per age group. The sampling and data collection procedures were done the same way during each survey. Chi2- tests were used to evaluate differences in distributions.

Results: Adolescents in all age groups became more positive toward parental action over time. In 2003, more then 86% of the adolescents, including both smokers and non-smokers, strongly supported parental action on their children's smoking by trying to persuade them not to smoke (94%), by not smoking themselves (87%) and by not allowing their children to smoke at home (86%). Both non-smokers and smokers supported the idea of parental action in a similar way. Reduced pocket money had a weak support (42%), especially from girls. Eighty-nine percent of the adolescents expected their parents to act against smoking and 85% against snus use.

Smoking was stable at 8% in 1987 and 1994 but decreased to 4% in 2003. In 1987 the snus use prevalence was 4% and in 2003 it was 3%. Snus users were mostly boys while few girls had done more than tried snus. More young people in all age groups had never tried smoking compared to the previous studies. In 2003 57% stated that they had never tried smoking.

Conclusion: Adolescent smoking in Sweden has decreased and the proportion who never tried smoking has increased. The results of this study show that a growing majority of adolescents support strong parental intervention to help them refrain from tobacco, but preferably not in a punitive manner. This finding dismisses the notion that adolescents ignore or even disdain parental practices concerning tobacco. Prevention strategies and interventions addressing adolescent tobacco use that involve parents can be improved by using these findings to encourage parents to intervene against their children's tobacco use.

Background In Sweden, the smoking prevalence has declined. In 2007, it was among the lowest in the industrialized world. A steady increase in the use of Swedish oral moist snuff, snus, has occurred in parallel. This development is neither solicited by authorities nor the medical establishment, but rather has occurred along with increased awareness of the dangers of smoking, and has been promoted by product development and marketing of snus.

Objective To evaluate time trends in patterns of tobacco use in northern Sweden during 1990–2007.

Design Cross-sectional (99,381 subjects) and longitudinal (26,867 subjects) data from the Västerbotten Intervention Programme (VIP) 1990–2007 were analyzed. All adults in Västerbotten County are invited to a VIP health examination at ages 40, 50, and 60 years, and until 1995 also 30 years. Smoking and use of snus were evaluated by gender, age and educational groups. Intermittent smoking was categorized as smoking.

Results From the period 1990–1995 to the period 2002–2007, smoking prevalence decreased from 26 to 16% among men and from 27 to 18% among women. The differences in prevalence increased between educational groups. The decline in smoking was less and the increase of snus use was greater among those with basic education. The use of snus among basic-educated 40-year-olds reached 35% among men and 14% among women during 2002–2007. Dual smoking and snus use increased among men and women with basic education. Smoking without snus use was more prevalent among women. Gender differences in total smoking prevalence (smoking only plus dual use) were small in all age groups, but increased among those with basic education reaching 7.3% during 2002–2007, with women being more frequent smokers. Smoking prevalences were similar among never, former and current snus users. Among the 30,000 former smokers, 38% of men and 64% of women had never used snus. Longitudinal data showed a decline in total tobacco use from baseline until follow-up and this was mainly due to a smoking cessation rate of<1% a year. Snus use was started by 6.2% of the 30-year-old women (age at baseline), and this contributed to a stable prevalence of total tobacco use in this group. Seventy percent of baseline snus users still used snus at follow-up. Among smokers, 55% continued smoking, 12% of men and 7% of women switched to snus. Among those with dual tobacco use at baseline, a third of men and a fourth of women remained dual users 10 years later.

Conclusion There are increasing differences in tobacco use between educational groups. Higher smoking and snus use prevalence are found among those with basic education, and this is most pronounced in the younger group of this middle-aged population. In spite of a higher prevalence of smoking without snus use among women, total smoking prevalence is similar in men and women due to a higher prevalence of dual tobacco use, i.e. snus and cigarettes, among men. The increase in snus use is being paralleled by a slight increase in dual use and the smoking prevalence does not seem to be influenced by snus. This should be the subject of further studies and also have implications for tobacco control policies.

to explore barriers to and possibilities for interactive communication between midwives and pregnant women regarding smoking behaviour during pregnancy.

the study was based on a qualitative research design aiming at a Grounded Theory analysis of interviews with pregnant women.

public sector antenatal clinics in Cape Town, South Africa predominantly providing care to women of mixed ancestry.

in-depth interviews with 12 pregnant women purposively selected on the basis of smoking behaviour, age and marital status to reach maximum variation.

the findings indicated low levels of transparency and trust in antenatal visits. Lack of trust was related to categories such as conflicting personal capabilities and socio-cultural and medical expectations, combined with a didactic approach from caregivers. The unworthy woman was identified as the core category of the interviews describing how women feel in their relationship with midwives. A theoretical model illustrates possibilities for change in relation to an ideal situation where a supportive caregiver, congruent expectations and capabilities result in women feeling visible.

culturally appropriate smoking cessation interventions should be of high priority. Training in patient-centred counselling for midwives is necessary for creating an open dialogue with pregnant mothers about their smoking habits. The time constraint experienced by midwives also suggests that other methods apart from midwife counselling should be investigated for inclusion in the clinical setting.

INTRODUCTION: previous research has suggested that pregnant women prefer a person-centred approach for smoking cessation interventions. However few studies have illustrated the mechanism through which such an approach has an influence on quitting or reduction rates among pregnant women in resource poor settings. PURPOSE: to explore the role of different components included in a smoking cessation intervention delivered to disadvantaged pregnant women with high smoking rates attending public health antenatal clinics in South Africa. METHODS: a qualitative design consisting of focus-group discussion with women exposed to the intervention was used. Women were purposively selected from four antenatal clinics and one tertiary hospital to represent different experiences of the intervention. Focus group discussions with four groups of smokers and four groups of quitters were conducted and a total of 41 women were interviewed. Data were analysed using content analysis. MAIN FINDINGS: the main theme describing the intervention effect that emerged from the interviews was, 'Making identification with change possible'. The categories 'An impulse for change', 'An achievable recipe', 'A physical reminder' and 'A compassionate companion' further described how each intervention component was perceived by women and how it contributed to behaviour change. CONCLUSIONS: behaviour change interventions that are directly informed by the target population with regards to its design, content and delivery offer great opportunities for positive behaviour change. Women positively evaluated all the components employed in this intervention but rated the social support they received from peer-counsellors as the overriding aspect of the intervention.