The Tackling Indigenous Smoking (TIS) program is a national evidence-based population health program designed to reduce the prevalence of smoking and e-cigarette use amongst Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. The TIS program is managed and funded by the Australian Government Department of Health and Aged Care’s Preventive Health and Communicable Disease Section (First Nations Health). 26 organisations are funded through regional tobacco control grants (RTCGs). The funding supports a population health promotion approach to tobacco and e-cigarette control, combining a range of evidence-based activities to meet the needs of different population groups within a region.

CIRCA has been involved in the evaluation of the TIS program since 2016 and has been commissioned again to evaluate the 2022-23 to 2026-27 program. The purpose of CIRCA’s evaluation of the 2022-23 to 2026-27 TIS program is to:

  • assess the extent to which the conditions have been met for the TIS Program to achieve its objectives,
  • to capture the perspectives of TIS Teams regarding the extent to which the program is achieving its outcomes, and
  • to determine where program improvements can be made.

CIRCA has developed a TIS program logic 2023-2026 , an overview of what the TIS program is trying to achieve over the next implementation period.  It maps out the inputs, activities, and outputs, as well as the desired short-, medium-, and long-term outcomes for the program. Short-term outcomes are focused on changes in people’s understanding, medium-term outcomes are focused on changes in people’s intentions or motivations, and long-term outcomes are about behavioural changes. See the program logic in full here.

Updates

The CIRCA’s Full Wave 1 report and the associated lay summary are now publicly available:

The report and lay summary communicate findings from:

  • interviews and focus groups with TIS National Support stakeholders undertaken between October and November 2024
  • telephone or online interviews with TIS Coordinators facilitated between August and December 2024
  • online surveys with TIS CEOs and TIS staff conducted between September and December 2024
  • analysis of 33 Activity Work Plans (AWPs) submitted by TIS teams in July 2024, with comparisons being made with the data from the AWPs submitted in July 2023
  • analysis of 33 Performance Reports (PRs) submitted by TIS teams for the Jan – Jun 2024 reporting period, with comparisons being made with the data from the PRs for the Jul – Dec 2023 period
  • analysis of the NBPU progress report.

You can read the findings below:

– Full Report: https://ksa.ycr.mycrazydomains.me/wp-content/uploads/J0797_TIS_FullWave1Report_20250530_final.pdf

– Lay Summary: https://ksa.ycr.mycrazydomains.me/wp-content/uploads/J0797_TIS_FullWave1Report_LaySummary_20250701_final.pdf

TIS Aboriginal Advisory Group for Western Australia

In October 2024, CIRCA brought together an Aboriginal Advisory Group for Western Australia to inform our evaluation of the Tackling Indigenous Smoking (TIS) Program. This TIS Evaluation Advisory Group for WA (TIS-EAG-WA) consists of five Aboriginal professionals with years of experience in government and non-government organisations. The Members of CIRCA’s Aboriginal Advisory Group for Western Australia are:

 

The group has diverse geographic connections to WA regions where TIS operates. In addition, each member has a strong interest in and commitment to the control of tobacco and e-cigarette usage in Aboriginal communities.

The primary purpose of the TIS-EAG-WA is to ensure the culturally appropriate and safe implementation of the TIS evaluation in Western Australia, while respecting cultural protocols. Its responsibilities include advising CIRCA on effective communication with potential research participants, interpretation of findings, and dissemination of results. Read the Announcement of the creation of the TIS-EAG-WA here