A partnership approach to co-developing a smoking cessation intervention for persons with spinal cord injury

Compared to the general population, people with spinal cord injury (SCI) report higher cigarette smoking rates, poorer health outcomes related to smoking, and lower engagement with smoking cessation treatments. Despite these inequities, SCI-specific smoking cessation supports have not yet been developed to help people with SCI stop smoking. SCI British Columbia (BC) is a community organization dedicated to helping persons with SCI adjust, adapt, and thrive. As our partner on this project, SCI BC identified a need for smoking cessation support for their clients. Using a partnership approach, this project aims to convene a diverse panel of researchers and research users to co-develop a smoking cessation intervention for people with SCI and the protocol for evaluating the intervention. During three meetings, the panel with experience in smoking cessation and/or SCI will review the literature and share their ideas to co-develop an evidence-based smoking cessation intervention. The panel will also help inform the intervention’s evaluation. The systematic co-development process will help to ensure the intervention is feasible, can be delivered by SCI BC, and has potential to support the health of persons with SCI.

Team members: Christopher McBride (Spinal Cord Injury British Columbia); Kathleen Martin Ginis (UBC); Mary Jung (UBC); Guy Faulkner (UBC); Kelsey Wuerstl (UBC).