Smoking and Nurses in NEW ZEALAND - ASH
Smoking and Nurses in NEW ZEALAND - ASH
Smoking and Nurses in NEW ZEALAND - ASH
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Summary✜ BackgroundCigarette smok<strong>in</strong>g is the lead<strong>in</strong>g cause of preventable death <strong>in</strong> New Zeal<strong>and</strong> (M<strong>in</strong>istry of Health, 2004). Nurseled smok<strong>in</strong>g cessation <strong>in</strong>terventions are congruent with an evidence-based approach to nurs<strong>in</strong>g care, <strong>and</strong>with the New Zeal<strong>and</strong> Nurs<strong>in</strong>g Council’s scopes of practice for nurses (The Nurs<strong>in</strong>g Council of New Zeal<strong>and</strong>,2004). Because nurses work <strong>in</strong> a wide range of sett<strong>in</strong>gs they are well-placed to provide support for smokefreeenvironments. Little is known about the knowledge, attitudes <strong>and</strong> practices of New Zeal<strong>and</strong> nurses towardsprovid<strong>in</strong>g smok<strong>in</strong>g cessation advice <strong>and</strong> support for smokefree environments.✜ Aims• To assess the knowledge of cessation, attitudes towards smok<strong>in</strong>g, the provision of smok<strong>in</strong>g cessationadvice <strong>and</strong> treatment, <strong>and</strong> attitudes to <strong>and</strong> management of smokefree workplaces <strong>in</strong> a sample ofnurses with practis<strong>in</strong>g certificates <strong>in</strong> New Zeal<strong>and</strong>.• To describe the prevalence of smok<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> nurses us<strong>in</strong>g the 2006 New Zeal<strong>and</strong> census.✜ MethodsOne thous<strong>and</strong> questionnaires were posted to a r<strong>and</strong>om sample of 1000 nurses (500 community-basednurses, <strong>and</strong> 500 hospital-based) from the New Zeal<strong>and</strong> Nurs<strong>in</strong>g Council register of nurses with currentpractis<strong>in</strong>g certificates.Statistics New Zeal<strong>and</strong> provided results from the New Zeal<strong>and</strong> Census of Population <strong>and</strong> Dwell<strong>in</strong>gs, 2006,for nurses by gender, practice area <strong>and</strong> cigarette smok<strong>in</strong>g status (Statistics New Zeal<strong>and</strong>, 2007a)✜ ResultsSurvey results: Responses were received from 371 (37%) of the nurses. They were enthusiastic about<strong>and</strong> committed to <strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g smok<strong>in</strong>g cessation <strong>in</strong> their practice, <strong>and</strong> to learn<strong>in</strong>g more about help<strong>in</strong>g clientswho smoke. N<strong>in</strong>e out of ten felt that it was part of their responsibility to advise clients to stop smok<strong>in</strong>g. Nearlyn<strong>in</strong>e out of ten said they would be happy to spend an extra five m<strong>in</strong>utes with each patient who smoked if theycould effectively <strong>in</strong>tervene. Over half had not received tra<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g for effective evidence-based smok<strong>in</strong>g cessation<strong>in</strong>terventions but three quarters were <strong>in</strong>terested <strong>in</strong> learn<strong>in</strong>g more about how to help people stop smok<strong>in</strong>g.The respondents’ knowledge of the health effects of smok<strong>in</strong>g was high, but there were gaps <strong>in</strong> knowledge<strong>ASH</strong>-KAN AOTEAROA: ASSESSMENT OF SMOKING HISTORY, KNOWLEDGE AND ATTITUDES OF NURSES IN <strong>NEW</strong> <strong>ZEALAND</strong> 7
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