08.04.2026 Re-engaging older smokers: Evaluating proactive outreach
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Re-engaging older smokers: Evaluating proactive outreach to improve smoking cessation uptake and success
IRAS ID
371493
Contact name
Nessie Frennesson
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Public Health Wales
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 1 months, 1 days
Research summary
Smoking remains one of the leading causes of preventable illness and early death, with almost 10% of adults in Wales still smoking. The national Help Me Quit (HMQ) service provides free, evidence based behavioural support and medication, including Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT). Between 2021 and 2024, more than 6,400 adults aged 55–74 enrolled in HMQ without successfully quitting.
Older smokers are a key priority group as they are more likely to have smoked for many years, have higher nicotine dependence, and be at increased risk of smoking related illnesses. Research shows that people often need several attempts before quitting successfully, meaning that proactively re-contacting older users of the service may provide an important opportunity to support another quit attempt.
As part of service improvement, HMQ is trialling whether proactively contacting older users of the service (but who are not currently receiving support) would increase re-engagement. A small number of eligible users will receive a brief text message inviting them to get back in touch, with different message framings tested to assess whether they improve re enrolment rates. Individuals will be allocated into two groups as part of routine HMQ delivery: one receiving proactive contact and one receiving no additional contact. Both groups will be monitored for one month to determine whether they re-enrol. All proactive contact will be delivered through existing HMQ systems, and the intervention, treatment, and service offer remain unchanged for all users.
For research and evaluation purposes, anonymised data from this service improvement activity will be used to better understand patterns of re engagement and the impact of proactive contact. Only routinely collected service data will be used. Findings will inform whether proactive contact should be adopted, adapted, or discontinued and will generate transferable learning for other smoking cessation and behaviour change services.REC name
North East - York Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
26/NE/0093
Date of REC Opinion
26 May 2026
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion