Overview
The tobacco epidemic is one of the major public health challenges in Europe being associated with a high risk of mortality and morbidity. People who stop smoking greatly reduce their risk for disease and early death. Although the health benefits are greater for people who stop at earlier ages, there are benefits at any age.Primary care staff at the frontline: nurses, pharmacists, doctors, dentists and many other healthcare professionals encounter patients who are regular smokers on a daily basis. A recent systematic review enhanced the importance of providing smoking cession advice by dental healthcare professionals in primary care to their patients (Ramsier and Suvan 2015). A survey of the educational curriculum among 21 European Dental Schools identified many gaps in training during undergraduate education (Davies, Ramsier, Warnakulasuriya et al, 2013). Currently, there is a lack of accessible training modules for healthcare professionals who have the potential to deliver smoking cession advice. Though, multiple forms of information are available these are often in English only and follow old guidance.
An E-Learning Resource
By carrying out this trainsnational project we aim to embrace local smoking cessation policy, ensuring information offered is correctly based upon local guidelines. By utilising a freely acailable online platform, we ensure European-wide accessibiltiy.
Consequently, we aim:
- To provide an e-learning tool, promoting smoking cession advice. This will be accessible to European Union healthcare professionals and translated into several languages
- To strengthen the ties among European Union Educational and Professional Health Institutions for promoting smoking cession advice.
- Increase professionals’ skills and improve personal portfolio, while taking into account the language /content differences between the countries’ education systems.
Overall, the e-learning smoking cessation advice project will be organized into several modules, designed to be used by healthcare professionals such as nurses, pharmacists, dentists and doctors. It will be freely available online and translated in several languages. By promoting the content of the e-learning program we believe a high number of healthcare professionals will complete it. Promotion will be in the forms of posters, Facebook, Twitter, articles and communication meetings.
IN CONCLUSION
By providing this pioneering EU smoking cessation programme we aim to promote a gradual reduction in EU population smoking rates. This could potentially have a positive economic and healthcare impact upon the EU countries alongside decreasing the mortality and morbidity rate of EU citizens.
Project Disclaimer
Co-funded by the Erasmus+ programme of the European Union.
The European Commission support for the production of this publication does not constitute an endorsement of the contents which reflects the views only of the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.