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Leibniz Institute for Prevention Research and Epidemiology – BIPSLeibniz Institute for Prevention Research and Epidemiology – BIPS

BIPS Institute Seminar traces the development of the SISTAQUIT program

Prevention and Evaluation Event BIPS Institute Seminar

How can a program developed with communities become part of routine care and expand? Professor Gillian Gould will discuss SISTAQUIT, a smoking cessation program for use during pregnancy.

Two women sit on a park bench. One holds a baby, while the other smokes and looks at her smartphone.

The BIPS Institute Seminar on Wednesday, November 11, 2026, will focus on the SISTAQUIT program. Professor Gillian Gould of Southern Cross University in Australia will discuss its development and wider reach in a talk titled "Vision to Impact: The SISTAQUIT Story of Co-Design, Scale-Up and Global Reach." The seminar will take place from 2:00 to 2:55 p.m. in Room 1.150 at BIPS.

SISTAQUIT was developed to address smoking during pregnancy among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women. The program was co-designed with Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services, health professionals and communities. Gould's talk will cover a national cluster-randomised trial of clinician training, organisational support and culturally tailored resources for pregnant women and their families.

The talk will also examine the program's implementation and scale-up. Key lessons include the importance of Indigenous governance, relationship-centred approaches and sustained collaboration across research, policy and practice. Gould will also discuss how programs can be adapted to different settings without losing their core elements.

SISTAQUIT has become the foundation for further Indigenous health initiatives, including SISTABIRTH and SISTASCREEN, as well as the forthcoming SISTACARE program. Gould is Professor of Health Equity at Southern Cross University, a general practitioner and a researcher in public health and implementation science. The seminar will be hosted by Dr. Tilman Brand and Bibiana Barrera Bernal.

Wer Interesse hat, an der Veranstaltung teilzunehmen, kann sich über institutsseminar(at)leibniz-bips.de anmelden.