Family Practice Advance Access originally published online on July 29, 2005
Family Practice 2005 22(6):614-616; doi:10.1093/fampra/cmi082
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A short report: survey of practice nurses' attitudes towards giving smoking cessation advice
King's College London, Institute of Psychiatry, Department of Psychology, Health Psychology Section
Correspondence to Dr Sue Hall, Health Psychology Section, Department of Psychology, Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London, 5th Floor, Thomas Guy House, Guy's Hospital, London SE1 9RT, UK; Email: sue.hall{at}kcl.ac.uk
Background. Although practice nurses play an important role in implementing smoking cessation strategies in primary care, relatively little is known of their attitudes and beliefs about giving smoking cessation advice.
Objectives. To describe practice nurses' attitudes towards giving smoking cessation advice.
Methods. 152 of 200 (76%) practice nurses randomly selected from Medical Research Council General Practice Research Framework records completed a postal survey. The Attitudes to Smoking Cessation Advice Questionnaire was used.
Results. Overall, nurses were enthusiastic about giving smoking cessation advice and perceived such advice as effective. Nurses who were non-smokers perceived such advice as more effective than current smokers, as did those who had been trained in smoking cessation, who were also more enthusiastic than those who had not been trained.
Conclusion. Training all practice nurses in smoking cessation, and offering nurses who smoke effective smoking cessation services, is likely to help achieve Government targets for smoking cessation.
Keywords. Attitudes, health promotion, practice nurses, smoking cessation.