Calling all nurses - smoking cessation survey:

Columnist · Jan 12, 2014

Moved to General Nursing.

Nursing4Today · Feb 27, 2014

Summary of Capstone Research Project:

Article for Allnurses.com

February 27, 2014

Cinda French, RN, BSCS, BSN, MSN

Abstract

Problem. The problem of smoking cessation is complex and unique to each individual; nurse provided smoking cessation education and interventions play an important role in addressing this important health issue. It is worthwhile to determine if knowledge of tobacco unethical practices changes people's perception of smoking and smoking cessation, since a positive correlation indicates the value of incorporating education on the topic as an adjuvant tool in the smoking cessation 'toolkit'. Participants. A small, non-probability sample of practicing nurses and nursing students participated in an online survey via the established nurse website, allnurses.com. Methodologies. In this exploratory, quasi-experimental study, the participants answered pre-survey Likert data questions about their perceptions and beliefs regarding smoking cessation practices. Then they read a summary of recent research findings from the tobacco databases, and answered the Likert data post-survey questions. This study addressed the following research question: What is the impact of the new knowledge of tobacco industry practices on nurse perceptions of smoking and smoking cessation? Results. The Likert data was assigned numeric values and the results converted to agreement scores. The participants had a high level of agreement in both the pre-survey and post-survey. The pre-survey was the expected results and the post-survey was the observed results. Although there was an upward trend from the pre-survey to the post-survey, the Chi-Square calculation for the whole survey indicated that this was well within the accepted range and likely due to chance. Recommendations and Conclusions. If new knowledge of tobacco industry practices can assist some individuals in their pursuit of smoking cessation, then research of its use is important. It is also important to be aware of any difficulties that may arise from the use of this material. Further research should include small focus groups or educational group studies, which may be more productive than survey questions, especially those limited to Likert data type questions. The details of this study indicate utilizing this new knowledge may increase nurse motivation to provide smoking cessation. Further research should investigate if this phenomenon is present and, if it is, what the best practices for its inclusion would be.

Discussion

The acceptance of the null hypothesis for this study is based on the whole-survey Chi-Square calculation. (It is possible that the calculation does not accurately reflect the variety of the data of this study, since positive and negative Likert data answers tend to cancel each other out.) The small, non-probability participant sample is insufficient to draw conclusions that extend beyond this study.

Research Question. The purpose of this exploratory, quasi-experimental study was to answer the research question: What is the impact of the new knowledge of tobacco industry practices on nurse perceptions of smoking and smoking cessation? The Chi-Square value calculated for the whole-survey indicated that the results were not significant, and that the null hypothesis should be accepted. (The sample size was too small to calculate Chi-Square values for individual questions.) Within this small sample, the impact of new knowledge of tobacco industry practices made some difference in some participant answers; and the nature of the changes in answers varied greatly. Some changes in answers indicated a slight increase in agreement with the survey questions of this study, and some changes in answers indicated a slight decrease in agreement. For some participants, the provided material changed their answer to the question about whether cigarettes have become more addictive, and for some it increased their motivation to provide smoking cessation to their patients. Other noted changes to answers included decreasing their agreement with: the importance of nurse support for smoke-free legislation, the belief that tobacco industry practices are not honest or appropriate, the belief that healthcare staff should tell patients the smoking cessation is the single best thing they can do for their health, and the importance of nurse provided information on the benefits of smoking cessation.

Recommendations and Conclusions: Smoking cessation continues to be challenging and problematic; nurses who smoke have the potential for additional stressors and issues. If new knowledge of tobacco industry practices can assist some individuals in their pursuit of smoking cessation, then research of its use is important. It is also important to be aware of any difficulties that may arise from the use of this material. Further research should include small focus groups or educational group studies, which may be more productive than survey questions, especially those limited to Likert data type questions. The details of this study indicate utilizing this new knowledge may increase nurse motivation to provide smoking cessation. Further research should investigate if this phenomenon is present and, if it is, what the best practices for its inclusion would be.