Working Life: Kate Cassidy, health promotion officer

8.20am

Most mornings, I leave home before 8am for my base at St Catherine’s Hall, Waterford city. On arrival, I go straight to my emails. Smoking cessation is my main area.

I get referrals from GPs, hospitals and community-based services such as the probation service. I get a fair few referrals from the maternity services.

I train midwives in how to broach the topic of smoking with mums-to-be. They are very proactive in making referrals.

They understand the phenomenal impact of smoking on the health of mother and baby. Lung cancer is now killing more women than breast cancer.

11.30am

I plan ahead to see when and where I can accommodate people. Twice a month I travel to GP practices from Ardmore to Lismore where I see four or five people per practice.

Occasionally, I travel to Waterford Regional Hospital where, as part of a pulmonary rehabilitation programme, I deliver a session on smoking cessation.

I’m also very involved in the Smoke-free Campus campaign. We are trying to de-normalise smoking in healthcare settings and I train people in how to try and achieve this.

2pm

Afternoons can involve training people to help others quit smoking. The more people I train, the greater the impact. It’s called the cascade model. We also support local initiatives behind national campaigns such as those run by the Irish Heart Foundation or the Irish Cancer Society.

4pm

I do one-on-one interventions. Most of my referrals are aged 30 upwards. Interventions last about 20 minutes. Most of the time, it’s not a lack of information that prevents people making that lifestyle change. They know it’s bad for them, but they just can’t quit. My role is to bridge that gap between having the information and making the change, to provide the emotional support and motivation, in conjunction with pharmacotherapy (for example, nicotine replacement drugs).

6pm

My three girls are living in Dublin so it’s me and my husband at dinner. Some evenings, I run a smoking cessation group.