Background: Auckland has a rapidly growing Asian population, and many Asian immigrants cite barriers to accessing mainstream health services such as language and cultural differences. This project arose from Waitemata DHB's priorities of disease prevention and reducing inequalities in access to services.

Strategy: A tri-partite agreement was signed between Waitemata DHB Asian Health Support Service & Health Gain teams, the Auckland Regional Public Health Service and Harbour PHO. A community-based service was established that combined proven smokefree promotion and smoking cessation methods, with family-oriented and language/culture-appropriate service delivery. Local Asian communities were involved from the start, and local bilingual coordinators were trained to provide the service, linked with an extensive interpreting service. A specific database was developed for the service, and Asian resources were developed and translated. Extensive community promotion was included as part of the service. A prior planned evaluation has found the service to be effective at reducing exposure to second-hand smoke through the implementation of smokefree homes/cars policies and assisting Asian smokers to stop smoking. The evaluation also found this novel model for service delivery to be acceptable and appropriate to the clients and their families.

Conclusion: This service is unique in that it combines public health, health promotion and primary care. It also combines cessation and smokefree promotion. Delivery of the service in a manner appropriate to the target population, with respect to language, culture and the importance of family, has been found to be successful and may be replicated for other populations.