Estimating population coverage of Tackling Indigenous Smoking teams, a placed-based health intervention in Australia

Abstract

Objective: As part of the Tackling Indigenous Smoking (TIS) program, TIS teams provide Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander-led tobacco control in their geographic area. We aimed to estimate the percentage and number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples living in an area serviced by a TIS team in 2018–19. Methods: We analysed weighted, representative data from 8,048 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged ≥10 years from the 2018–19 National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Survey. TIS services mapping data were used to define areas served by TIS teams. Coverage was explored in relation to remoteness, program priority groups and sociodemographic characteristics. Results: Around three-quarters (76.4%,95%CI:72.9–79.9) of the 2018–19 population aged ≥10 years lived in an area served by TIS teams (n=479,000). Coverage by TIS teams was generally similar across groups, with few exceptions. Conclusions: The recently announced expansion to national coverage would provide access to locally tailored tobacco control to a further 148,000 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples aged ≥10 years, including 46,000 adults who currently smoke. Implications for public health: Expansion to national TIS team coverage is a welcomed first step on the path to ensuring equitable access to tobacco control.