‘You’ll never account for every client scenario’ perceived facilitators and barriers of a co-designed financial incentive intervention for smoking cessation in Ireland: A qualitative investigation
Financial incentive interventions for promoting smoking cessation are complex, but effective. We conducted workshops with 59 community members and Stop Smoking Professionals (SSPs) to co-design a pilot financial incentive intervention for smoking cessation targeting disadvantaged communities in Ireland. Following contributions from 27 participants (mostly SSPs), we qualitatively examined perceived facilitators and barriers to implementation. Results aligned with 8 out of 14 domains of the Theoretical Domains Framework (TDF) - a validated framework to understand implementation determinants of health behaviour change. Example facilitators included: establishing clear guidelines, providing staff training, appropriate targeting for public defensibility. Example barriers included: an inability to account for all potential challenges, disruption to work dynamics if training is insufficient, biological-testing concerns, public disapproval, limited technology. Eligibility precision, staff role clarity, objective cessation verification and media management were particularly salient. Identifying perceived facilitators and barriers aligned to theory allows for more specific strategies for design and implementation.
Authors
- Aishling Sheridan (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3944-0789)
- Caitriona Reynolds
- Sara Burke (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9419-1642)
- Jan Rose Sørensen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0857-9267)
- Martina Blake
- Cheyenne Downey (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4186-0130)
- Brian Doyle (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2025-5399)
- Sarah Halpin
- Linda Bauld (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7411-4260)
- Helen McAvoy (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5652-2746)
- Reham A. Lasheen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1003-7785)
- Jane Coyne (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0002-3395-2588)
- Rikke Siersbaek (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3223-1420)
- Debbi Stanistreet (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3738-1727)
- Ciara M. E. Reynolds (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5262-4275)
- Gabrielle O’Keeffe
- Frank Doyle (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3785-7433)
- Kenneth Daniel Ward (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8972-538X)
- Shane Allwright (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1841-4781)
- Sarah Anne Tighe (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4944-7906)
- Molly Byrne (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8900-4320)
- Paul M. Kavanagh (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8576-2247)
- Susan M. Smith (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6027-2727)
- Pauline Williams
- Edward Murphy
- Roisin Lowry
- Tony O'Reilly
- Claire Gordon
- Greg Straton
- Fran Frankland
- Steve Moore
Institutions
- Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (IE)
- Action on Smoking and Health (GB)
- University of New Mexico (US)
- Ollscoil na Gaillimhe – University of Galway (IE)
- Trinity College Dublin (IE)
- Irish Cancer Society (IE)
- Health Service Executive (IE)
- Institute of Public Health (IE)
- Department of Health (IE)
- Irish Heart Foundation (IE)
- Greater Manchester Health & Social Care Partnership (GB)
- University of Edinburgh (GB)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Journal of Health Psychology
- Published
- 2026-10-30
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1177/13591053261499098
- Primary Topic
- Smoking Behavior and Cessation
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- Health Research Board