Smoking and looked-after children: a mixed-methods study of policy, practice, and perceptions relating to tobacco use in residential units
Despite the implementation of smoke-free policies by local authorities and a statutory requirement to promote the health and well-being of looked-after children and young people in England, rates of tobacco use by this population are substantially higher than in the general youth population. A mixed...
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| Format: | Article |
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MDPI
2016
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| Online Access: | https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/34439/ |
| _version_ | 1848794854178422784 |
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| author | Huddlestone, Lisa Pritchard, Catherine Ratschen, Elena |
| author_facet | Huddlestone, Lisa Pritchard, Catherine Ratschen, Elena |
| author_sort | Huddlestone, Lisa |
| building | Nottingham Research Data Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | Despite the implementation of smoke-free policies by local authorities and a statutory requirement to promote the health and well-being of looked-after children and young people in England, rates of tobacco use by this population are substantially higher than in the general youth population. A mixed-methods study, comprising a survey of residential care officers in 15 local authority-operated residential units and semi-structured, face-to-face interviews with residential carers in three local authority-operated residential units, was conducted in the East Midlands. Survey data were descriptively analysed; and interview data were transcribed and analysed using thematic framework analysis. Forty-two care officers (18% response rate) completed the survey, and 14 participated in the interviews. Despite reporting substantial awareness of smoke-free policies, a lack of adherence and enforcement became apparent, and levels of reported training in relation to smoking and smoking cessation were low (21%). Potential problems relating to wider tobacco-related harms, such as exploitative relationships; a reliance on tacit knowledge; and pessimistic attitudes towards LAC quitting smoking, were indicated. The findings highlight the need for the development of comprehensive strategies to promote adherence to and enforcement of local smoke-free policy within residential units for looked-after children and young people, and to ensure appropriate support pathways are in place for this population. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T19:22:48Z |
| format | Article |
| id | nottingham-34439 |
| institution | University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus |
| institution_category | Local University |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T19:22:48Z |
| publishDate | 2016 |
| publisher | MDPI |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | nottingham-344392020-05-04T17:56:31Z https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/34439/ Smoking and looked-after children: a mixed-methods study of policy, practice, and perceptions relating to tobacco use in residential units Huddlestone, Lisa Pritchard, Catherine Ratschen, Elena Despite the implementation of smoke-free policies by local authorities and a statutory requirement to promote the health and well-being of looked-after children and young people in England, rates of tobacco use by this population are substantially higher than in the general youth population. A mixed-methods study, comprising a survey of residential care officers in 15 local authority-operated residential units and semi-structured, face-to-face interviews with residential carers in three local authority-operated residential units, was conducted in the East Midlands. Survey data were descriptively analysed; and interview data were transcribed and analysed using thematic framework analysis. Forty-two care officers (18% response rate) completed the survey, and 14 participated in the interviews. Despite reporting substantial awareness of smoke-free policies, a lack of adherence and enforcement became apparent, and levels of reported training in relation to smoking and smoking cessation were low (21%). Potential problems relating to wider tobacco-related harms, such as exploitative relationships; a reliance on tacit knowledge; and pessimistic attitudes towards LAC quitting smoking, were indicated. The findings highlight the need for the development of comprehensive strategies to promote adherence to and enforcement of local smoke-free policy within residential units for looked-after children and young people, and to ensure appropriate support pathways are in place for this population. MDPI 2016-06-15 Article PeerReviewed Huddlestone, Lisa, Pritchard, Catherine and Ratschen, Elena (2016) Smoking and looked-after children: a mixed-methods study of policy, practice, and perceptions relating to tobacco use in residential units. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 13 (6). pp. 593-609. ISSN 1660-4601 smoking; smoking cessation; looked-after children; residential care https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph13060593 doi:10.3390/ijerph13060593 doi:10.3390/ijerph13060593 |
| spellingShingle | smoking; smoking cessation; looked-after children; residential care Huddlestone, Lisa Pritchard, Catherine Ratschen, Elena Smoking and looked-after children: a mixed-methods study of policy, practice, and perceptions relating to tobacco use in residential units |
| title | Smoking and looked-after children: a mixed-methods study of policy, practice, and perceptions relating to tobacco use in residential units |
| title_full | Smoking and looked-after children: a mixed-methods study of policy, practice, and perceptions relating to tobacco use in residential units |
| title_fullStr | Smoking and looked-after children: a mixed-methods study of policy, practice, and perceptions relating to tobacco use in residential units |
| title_full_unstemmed | Smoking and looked-after children: a mixed-methods study of policy, practice, and perceptions relating to tobacco use in residential units |
| title_short | Smoking and looked-after children: a mixed-methods study of policy, practice, and perceptions relating to tobacco use in residential units |
| title_sort | smoking and looked-after children: a mixed-methods study of policy, practice, and perceptions relating to tobacco use in residential units |
| topic | smoking; smoking cessation; looked-after children; residential care |
| url | https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/34439/ https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/34439/ https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/34439/ |