The MPOWER package is a package introduced by WHO, comprising of six measures to assist in country-level implementation of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. One of the six components of the MPOWER package is “Offer help to quit tobacco use.”
Often, tobacco users are aware of the risks, but require support to overcome addiction or dependence on the substance. It is recommended that support for tobacco cessation should also lie with health-systems, where programs for tobacco cessation should be incorporated and embedded into primary health care services, with health care providers acting as advocates for tobacco control.
Dr. Upendra Bhojani serves as a guide for Rachana Shah (Government Dental College and Hospital, Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India) on her work on how to integrate tobacco cessation support with the help of health professionals as a part of routine primary care. This project shifts the focus from tobacco cessation centres to healthcare providers as playing an important role in delivering such services.
Previous work by this research team showed that Dentists are generally willing, though very few display this in clinical practice, in an article titled Dentists and tobacco cessation: Moving beyond willingness.
Rachana Shah’s doctoral proposal examines the role of oral health professionals (OHP) and the experiences and expectations of dental patients in the context of tobacco cessation (TC) services. The protocol of her doctoral study titled “Integrating tobacco cessation into routine dental practice: protocol for a qualitative study” was recently published in BMJ Open, linked here.
