Community Wellness Circle
What is a Wellness Circle?
Based on traditional talking circles of the Alaska
Native culture, these circles will welcome anyone
from the community on a regular basis who want to
stop smoking cigarettes or chewing tobacco (at least
once a week), to share their thoughts and feelings
with no judgment being passed on their words.
In addition to this open exchange, other activities may include berry picking, fishing, beading, walking, and fish preparation – all activities that promote tobacco free living! The Wellness Circle facilitator should be prepared to respond to requests for additional techniques for tobacco cessation, and should work closely with similar regional health corporation programs.
Guidelines for Wellness Circles
Groups can be any size, but 3-12 works best. They can include just women, just men, or both.
The idea of the circles is to give support to men or women who want to reduce or stop tobacco use. This support should be positive and encouraging in a social setting.
The group can choose its activities and change them as they wish. Some suggestions are:
- Exercise/walking
- Crafts and traditional activities
- Book, article, or internet search reviews of topics of interest to the group
- Discussions of “how it’s going,” including successes, challenges, and sharing resources for help.
All members of the group need not be tobacco users – the group can be formed for other reasons or with another focus and include tobacco users who may “buddy up” for support for their own issue.
A primary resource to participants will be the Alaska Quit Line (888-842-7848). All tobacco users should be urged to call the Quit Line as soon as possible and establish and maintain a relationship with that resource. The group leader, if a non-tobacco user, should also call the Quit Line and introduce herself/himself as a group facilitator and inform herself/himself of the Quit Line’s services and support system.
The group leader should become familiar with the tobacco cessation resources at the nearest health care provider. She/he should contact them to make them aware that the group is forming and that some participants may wish to seek assistance, either counseling or nicotine replacement therapy, “NRT”.
Meetings can be held at any convenient location. Since these are to be social gatherings, private homes are acceptable as long as everyone invited feels comfortable. Groups can decide when they will meet. While individual contacts can be as often as daily, the group shouldn’t meet more often than weekly nor less often than monthly.
First Gathering
It might be worthwhile to keep a journal in order to track members’ progress. As soon as individuals feel settled they should be asked about the regularity of their tobacco use. If they feel comfortable you can do this in a group setting, or if you feel it would be more appropriate you can ask them to fill out a survey instead. As your Wellness Circle progresses continue to keep a journal documenting the level of tobacco use of each member. This will help you monitor the Circle’s level of success. If an individual is uncomfortable sharing this information, they should not be pressured.
Sharing at meetings should always be optional and those who choose to only listen should be made comfortable with that choice. All in attendance should agree that, while the group is open to all, everything shared within the meeting should be respected as confidential within the group. The first gathering should be devoted to individuals sharing their personal history and desires for tobacco cessation. Below are suggested questions that can be answered:
Talk about your personal history with tobacco; family use, your first use, your “pathway” of use up to now.
- Do you live and/or work with other tobacco users?
- What and how much do you use now?
- Have you tried to stop before? How? What happened?
- What are your motivations to stop now?
- What do you believe will help you to stop now?
- Any other questions or personal stories and history that fit the situation.
Before leaving the first meeting, the group should discuss options for activities, location, and times for continued meetings.
Resources
Alaska Quit Line
(888-842-7848)
The Quit Line provides free one-on-one telephone counseling,
information on how to quit and referral services seven
days a week.
Find a Quit Line brochure for your meetings at:
http://www.cancer.org/downloads/COM/QuitlineBrch_2col_AK.pdf
Alaska Tobacco Control Alliance
www.alaskatca.org
American Lung Association of Alaska
www.aklung.org/quitsmoking
Environmental Protection Agency
www.epa.gov/smokefree
Find helpful information, brochures, posters, cd-rom’s,
etc. on the health effects of smoking and how to quit.
[more Tobacco links]