Start that Conversation

Apart from winning gold in the 2014 Melbourne Design Awards, the videos have aired at national and international conferences and have been widely viewed by clinicians, the target audience.

The campaign, part of the Department of Health’s Supporting Patients to be Smokefree push, has changed the narrative on giving up smoking, said Kirstan Corben, who managed the project.

“The short films ask clinicians to change their behaviour – by initiating the conversation - not the smoking patient, reversing the traditional approach,” said Kirstan, Alfred Health’s lead for population health and health promotion.

Research shows advice from a health professional is one of the most effective ways to encourage people to stop smoking - the largest preventable cause of death and disease in Australia.

“We have had nothing but positive feedback. Response has been phenomenal,” Kirstan said. “I think the reason it has had such huge cut through has been they are real people and clinicians telling real stories. It’s not scripted so it’s authentic.”

To date more than 3,500 clinicians have viewed the video, which launched in September.