Barriers to patients recruitment
low mobility
RECRUITMENT
Patients received in consultation by health professionals mostly correspond to the target population of our study, however several difficulties relative to recruitment were reported, which can be grouped into four categories:Exclusion criteria (lack of French language skills, a high income, a center policy that results in patients being mostly already treated, under legal guardianship),Difficulties to evaluate eligibility criteria (detecting social benefits/ low SEP),Problems inherent to the patient (hospitalized, geographical distance),And finally, some health professionals’ preconceived idea that the desire to stop smoking is not a priority for smokers with low SEP, and quitting is perceived as more challenging among this population.This last point calls for vigilance regarding the prejudices that some health professionals might have relative to what the patient thinks is a priority for him/her.Although health professionals agreed that smoking cessation is a priority for their low-SEP patients, some comments indicated otherwise.A study based on the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) of 2001 in the US [A systematic review on perceived barriers to smoking cessation among vulnerable groups reports cases where health professionals discourage smoking cessation because they were concerned about their mental health, or because they thought smoking was their only source of pleasure [Finally, health professionals report that smokers with low SEP have inherent difficulties in smoking cessation. Withdrawal is perceived as more complicated, as is smoking cessation initiation or participation in a study. Follow-up and adherence to care are also perceived as more difficult for these patients.A literature review on barriers faced by low SEP patients to smoking cessation reports a lower ability to reach smoking cessation support because of low mobility, low social support, and a tendency to perceive it as inappropriate or inaccessible [