Social marketing with challenging target groups: smoking cessation in prisons in England and Wales

Smoking levels among prisoners are much higher than amongst the UK population as a whole. Our research focuses on the development and implementation of a pilot smoking cessation project: Using a social marketing process combined with the Health Behaviour Model, 159 participants, drawn from four prisons, undertook a smoking cessation programme. Data was collected using a case study approach, with a variety of research methods: primarily depth individual and mini-group qualitative interviews, but also document analysis and observation. The findings draw on prisoners' perspectives in the context of the marketing mix in elements of the strategy design, implementation and evaluation. The discussion identifies the need to maintain a consumer perspective, feeding into the marketing mix, and to identify and promote aspects of mutually beneficial exchange over and above basic health and monetary costs. The positive outcomes and insights gained show that using a social marketing strategy, as part of a smoking cessation programme, has important policy and practice implications. Lessons could be applied to other health issues and in similar settings such as forensic mental health. Copyright (C) 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.