Background We Can Quit (WCQ) is a tailored community-based smoking cessation intervention comprising group support delivered by trained lay women with optional access to combination Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT) without charge. It was designed for women living in socioeconomically disadvantaged areas in Ireland. A pilot cluster randomised controlled trial (WCQ2) determined that WCQ was feasible and highly acceptable to the target group. A key aim of the trial Knowledge Exchange and Dissemination plan was to reengage with key stakeholders to present and request their feedback on trial findings, and to inform the design of a future definitive effectiveness trial.

Methods Stakeholders who supported recruitment of women and/or trial planning, representatives of the Irish Cancer Society, the Ireland’s Health Service Executive, community organisations and pharmacies, GPs and primary care staff were invited to participate in an online interactive workshop. A Policy Brief which summarised trial findings was disseminated beforehand. Specific workshop objectives were to capture stakeholders’ views on improvements to community engagement, strategies to enhance recruitment and retention, and policy and practice priorities arising from the research. Workshop participants were invited to fill in an anonymous, open-ended questionnaire after the workshop to register any further views on the previously discussed topics. Field notes taken during the workshop and questionnaire responses were combined to obtain a final list of challenges, barriers and recommendations for policy development and future research from a community perspective.

Results Forty-one stakeholders attended the workshop. The need for additional time to build relationships with local stakeholders for participant referral was identified. Further development of the social prescribing model in primary care was recommended as a vehicle to enhance recruitment. Low literacy was identified as a barrier to recruitment and retention, to be addressed by simplifying trial-related information, and by greater assistance with data completion. Other recommendations included provision of an intervention boost after trial completion to facilitate retention, and to maintain the established group support by encouraging participants to join other healthy community programmes. Key policy priorities were to remove cost and administrative barriers to access NRT, prioritise smoking cessation support tailored to disadvantaged groups, and to recognise and fund the peer-support model for smoking cessation.

Conclusion These results yielded important strategies to optimise the design of a future trial to assess WCQ effectiveness on smoking cessation for women smokers living in disadvantaged districts in Ireland. The findings may be generalisable to other community-based health interventions.