Problem/Objective: This poster presents data from an innovative, large-scale study which trained lay health influencers to conduct brief tobacco cessation interventions. We investigated what activities would foster a “community of practice” among brief interveners. Our goal was to identify the mix of resources considered useful and that might promote sustained interest in promoting smoking cessation.

Methods: Participants were followed for up to nine months after receiving training and participated in interviews and focus groups to discuss their experiences.

Results: Three lessons regarding sustainability emerged. First, formal training provided lay health influencers with a sense of legitimacy that positively impacted their interventions. Second, health influencers were concerned about the impact of their cessation promotion on their social relationships (“social risk”). Effective training rests on the acknowledgement of social risk. Third, they considered material resources to be essential tools, enabling them to initiate and follow through on interventions. Different forms of material resources were deemed appropriate in different social contexts. It is necessary to look beyond the clarity of presentation and educational value of materials. The social life of materials, i.e., how they might be used in different social situations, was considered to be equally important as their educational value.

Conclusions: Sustaining health influencer motivation and the creation of a “community of smoking cessation practice” requires attention to formal training, social risk, and a variety of material resources for different contexts.