UMCG and Amsterdam UMC researchers Lilian Peters and Danielle Jansen have received a 500,000 euro grant for their project aimed at helping pregnant women stop smoking.
Translation by Thomas Ansell
The 500,000 euro grant for the large-scale Northern Netherlands project, which is called “Together we’ll quit smoking”, came from ZonMw, a health research stimulation fund for healthcare innovation. The research will be carried out in the three northern provinces of Groningen, Drenthe and Friesland and aims to support women who are pregnant or recently gave birth stop smoking.
Care and treatment options for women who smoke during or after their pregnancy are limited, especially for women with lower socio-economic status. Through their research, Peters and Jansen intend to develop guidelines to improve availability and access to resources to help more pregnant women and mothers quit smoking once and for all.
“Together we’ll quit smoking” will be carried out in collaboration with general practitioners, addiction specialists, youth health specialist, the Northern Netherlands Consortium for Pregnancy and Birth (a network of midwives, gynecologists and maternity nurses) and youth health specialists across the north. Other medical experts from relevant fields will also play a prominent role within the research project, which is meant to last for four years.
This research project is part of a growing focus on the impact of smoking on health outcomes in general and cardiovascular health in particular in the Northern Netherlands. Recent figures showed that death rates in Friesland due to cardiovascular issues are among the highest in the Netherlands. Groningen has been creating more smoke-free zones across the city, and the Wilhelmina Hospital in Assen is moving toward becoming a smoke-free environment.
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