Nursing education and beliefs towards tobacco cessation and control: a cross- sectional national survey (GHPSS) among nursing students in Greece

Abstract

BackgroundWithin the healthcare system, nurses have the ability to influence their patients' smoking habits through counselling. Therefore, it is of great importance to appropriately train health professionals on smoking cessation strategies with the aim to help them provide advice to their patients. In light of the above, the objective of this study was to assess the association between Greek nursing students' beliefs towards tobacco control/smoking cessation and the professional training received.MethodsDuring February 2009, we conducted a cross sectional national survey among all 3rd year nursing students of the two university based nursing departments in Greece (University of Athens, University of the Peloponnese). The Global Health Professional Student Survey (GHPSS) questionnaire was applied and following written informed consent 73% provided a completed questionnaire (n = 192/263 enrolled students).ResultsOverall, 33% were current active smokers, while 74% reported ever to experiment smoking. In regards to their beliefs towards tobacco control policies, non smokers were more positive in regards to banning smoking in restaurants (94% vs. 61%, p < 0.001), in bars and cafes (82% vs. 34%, p < 0.001), and all public places (93% vs. 51%, p < 0.001) when compared to current smokers. In comparison with students who had not received training on the importance of asking patients about their smoking habits, those that did were more likely to believe that nurses should have a role in smoking cessation and should act as role models for their patients.ConclusionsResources should be invested in improving the quality of undergraduate education in nursing departments in Greece with respect to tobacco control and smoking cessation.

Factors Associated With Smoking, Quit Attempts and Attitudes towards Total Smoking Bans at University: A Survey of Seven Universities in England, Wales and Northern ireland

“…Our 15.8% daily smoking level was comparable to the USA, which was 7.2% overall, but ranged from 15% (in two-year college students) to 4.2% (in four-year college students) ; and to the level found in Turkey (16.1% daily smokers and 9.0% occasional smokers) (Aslan et al, 2006). However, the levels of our UK sample were a little lower that those reported among nursing students in Greece (Patelarou et al, 2011), where 33.1% were current smokers (smoking cigarettes daily or occasionally within the past month). Nevertheless, the lower levels in the UK compared to Greece might be underestimated, considering that our questionnaire inquired about smoking during the last three months, whilst in Greece (Patelarou et al, 2011) the questionnaire inquired about smoking during the past month.…”

“…However, the levels of our UK sample were a little lower that those reported among nursing students in Greece (Patelarou et al, 2011), where 33.1% were current smokers (smoking cigarettes daily or occasionally within the past month). Nevertheless, the lower levels in the UK compared to Greece might be underestimated, considering that our questionnaire inquired about smoking during the last three months, whilst in Greece (Patelarou et al, 2011) the questionnaire inquired about smoking during the past month. Such different time periods of recall employed in different studies renders direct comparisons of smoking prevalence difficult.…”

“…Smoking among university students is a major public health concern globally, regardless of country, university, years (duration) of the course, or discipline of study (Erdogan and Erdogan 2009;Patelarou et al, 2011;AlKaabba et al, 2011;Huang et al, 2011;Al-Naggar et al, 2011).…”

Tobacco smoking among nursing students in Saudi Arabia: A descriptive correlational study

“…[10,11] Several international research studies examined tobacco use among college students. [7,9,10,[12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23] In Saudi Arabia, two studies investigated tobacco use among medical college students [24,25] and one study targeted dental students. [26] One study published in the previous century [27] explored the knowledge and attitude toward smoking among nursing and medical laboratory technology students and interns.…”

“…In a cross-sectional national survey conducted in 2009 among Greece nursing students, Patelarou et al [10] found that 33% were current active smokers, while 74% had experimented smoking in their lifetime. The prevalence of smoking among nursing students in Lebanon was 26.9%.…”