Text message support for smoking cessation among low-socioeconomic status smokers

Tobacco is the leading preventable cause of death worldwide and is forecasted to cause over 8 million deaths per year by 2030, if smoking habits remain unchanged. The recent plateau in the rate of decline in Australian smoking rates, combined with a continuing social gradient in smoking cessation, outlines the unprecedented need for innovative and targeted smoking cessation strategies tailored to the most disadvantaged. This project will address this need by evaluating the cost-effectiveness of a tailored and widely scalable text messaging program, in achieving smoking abstinence for low-socioeconomic status smokers in Australia, compared to standard Quitline care.

Primary supervisor: Dr. Ryan Courtney

Candidate requirements: 

• Masters or Honours in public health, psychology, epidemiology, pharmacoepidemiology, biostatistics or a related field
• Strong skills in quantitative analysis
• Track record of publication of peer-reviewed scientific articles
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Strong interpersonal skills
• Demonstrated capacity to work independently, as well as collaboratively, to meet team and project deadlines and milestones
• Strong organisational skills

How to Apply

For more information about this project please contact Dr Ryan Courtney (r.courtney@unsw.edu.au).