Nurses' beliefs, attitudes, and opinions regarding a smoking ban in a psychiatric hospital

Abstract

Purpose:This study aims to identify the beliefs, attitudes, and opinions of nursing professionals associated with tobacco smoking and its prohibition in a psychiatric hospital in Brazil.Methods:Using a cross-sectional epidemiologic study, a total of 73 nursing professionals in a smoke-free psychiatric hospital were interviewed. The Varimax Rotation and the Fisher's exact test at a 5% significance level were used to analyze the responses.Findings:Most nursing professionals reported observations of patients becoming calmer after smoking (n = 59, 80.8%) and tobacco withdrawal worsening patients' mental health symptoms, suggesting agreement among professionals that some psychiatric patients need to smoke tobacco. Most respondents stated that patients with mental health disorders have more difficulty with smoking cessation (79.4%) and are less interested in quitting smoking than those without disorders (95.9%). While one-third mentioned having used cigarettes as a reward or bribe, the majority (83.6%) was in favor of continuing the smoking ban, with more support observed from those working on a night shift and those who worked in the public psychiatric wards. Over 71% noted improvements in their health after the smoking ban.Conclusion:The nursing professionals were surprised by the effectiveness of the smoking ban and highlighted the improvement in the hospital environment after its implementation.Clinical relevance:As trusted healthcare professionals, nurses are essential in the fight against smoking and can contribute to awareness promotion, supporting patients during nicotine withdrawal, and decision-making processes for health policies.

Nurses’ Perspectives on Smoking Policies, Safety and Cessation Support in Psychiatric Wards: A Cross-Sectional Survey

“…It seems, then, that the third factor crucial in the effective implementation of smoke-free policies and smoking cessation interventions is the active involvement of mental health personnel [ 2 , 29 , 30 , 31 ]. To secure such involvement, professionals working in psychiatric units need to be equipped with up-to-date knowledge regarding policies and interventions, and need to be motivated to use and convincingly promote them.…”

“…This is why we decided to investigate the knowledge and attitudes of nursing personnel at psychiatric wards regarding patient smoking practices followed in their workplaces. Extensive research on this subject is available [ 19 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 , 36 , 37 , 38 , 39 , 40 ], but few studies were conducted in Poland [ 20 , 41 ] and, to the best of our knowledge, no standardised measures have been developed or adapted and validated for use among Polish psychiatric inpatients. Thus, the aim of our study was to explore the views of nurses working in psychiatric wards on patients’ smoking practices and their influence on the safety and comfort of both the patients and staff.…”