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Objectives Smoking during pregnancy is harmful for the woman and the unborn child, and the harms raise risks for the child going forward. Indigenous women often have higher rates of smoking prevalence than non-indigenous. Exercise has been proposed as a strategy to help pregnant smokers to quit. Māori (New Zealand Indigenous) women have high rates of physical activity suggesting that an exercise programme to aid quitting could be an attractive initiative. This study explored attitudes towards an exercise programme to aid smoking cessation for Māori pregnant women. Methods Focus groups with Māori pregnant women, and key stakeholder interviews were conducted. Results Overall, participants were supportive of the idea of a physical activity programme for pregnant Māori smokers to aid smoking cessation. The principal, over-arching finding, consistent across all participants, was the critical need for a Kaupapa Māori approach (designed and run by Māori, for Māori people) for successful programme delivery, whereby Māori cultural values are respected and infused throughout all aspects of the programme. A number of practical and environmental barriers to attendance were raised including: cost, the timing of the programme, accessibility, transport, and childcare considerations. Conclusions A feasibility study is needed to design an intervention following the suggestions presented in this paper with effort given to minimising the negative impact of barriers to attendance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As self efficacy beliefs help determine an individual's response to challenging situations, we explored the impact of the refugee experience on efficacy beliefs and their contribution to resettlement. General self efficacy (GSE) was assessed in 186 resettled Afghan and Kurdish refugees against a range of personal and temporal variables. Although no differences in GSE in relation to temporal factors were noted, significant relationships between self efficacy, lower psychological distress and higher subjective well being were evident. The findings suggest that GSE, because of its positive association with mental health and well being, is a variable worthy of further examination in refugees. In addition to ensuring a supportive environment for learning English, proactive employment strategies should be encouraged. Further research examining the use of successful refugee role models to promote self efficacy, enhance motivation for learning and ensure newly arrived refugees view resettlement as a challenge, rather than a threat, is recommended. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]