Perceptions of Receptivity: Exploring Tobacco Use and Smoking Cessation Best Practices from the Perspectives of Individuals with Lung Cancer and Health Care Professionals: Findings from Phase I

BACKGROUND: In Canada, smoking is the leading preventable cause of premature death. Family physicians and nurse practitioners are uniquely positioned to initiate smoking cessation. Because smoking is a chronic addiction, repeated, opportunity-based interventions are most effective in addressing physical dependence and modifying deeply ingrained patterns of beliefs and behaviour. However, only a small minority of family physicians provide thorough smoking cessation counselling and less than one-half offer adjunct support to patients.OBJECTIVE: To identify the key steps family physicians and nurse practitioners can take to strengthen effective smoking cessation interventions for their patients.METHODS: A multidisciplinary panel of health care practitioners involved with smoking cessation from across Canada was convened to discuss best practices derived from international guidelines, including those from the United States, Europe, and Australia, and other relevant literature. The panellists subsequently refined their findings in the form of the present article.RESULTS: The present paper outlines best practices for brief and effective counselling for, and treatment of, tobacco addiction. By adopting a simple series of questions, taking 30 s to 3 min to complete, health care professionals can initiate smoking cessation interventions. Integrating these strategies into daily practice provides opportunities to significantly improve the quality and duration of patients’ lives.CONCLUSION: Tobacco addiction is the most important preventable cause of morbidity and mortality in Canada. Family physicians, nurse practitioners and other front-line health care professionals are well positioned to influence and assist their patients in quitting, thereby reducing the burden on both personal health and the public health care system.

Download Full-text

The extent of formal tobacco cessation training received by student health professionals and the prevalence of tobacco use among them: a cross-sectional study

Wellcome Open Research ◽

10.12688/wellcomeopenres.16980.2 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 6 ◽

pp. 226

Author(s):

Ashwaghosha Parthasarathi ◽

Raj Kumar ◽

Krishna Undela ◽

Jayaraj Biligere Siddaiah ◽

Padukudru Anand Mahesh

Keyword(s):

Health Care ◽

Nursing Students ◽

Tobacco Use ◽

Health Care Professionals ◽

Tobacco Cessation ◽

Formal Training ◽

Tobacco Prevention ◽

Student Survey ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Total Prevalence

Background: Advice from health care professionals (HCPs) is critical for tobacco prevention and cessation efforts. The academic curricula for health care professional students (HCS) lack comprehensive training in assisting patients in tobacco cessation. Tobacco use among HCP’s deters them from giving proper tobacco prevention and cessation guidance. The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence and determinants of tobacco consumption in third-year students of four health care disciplines (medical, dental, pharmacy, and nursing) and to assess their undergraduate education on tobacco control and cessation. Methods: A web-based survey (response rate 84.4%) employing the Global Health Professions Student Survey (GHPSS) questionnaire; n= 838; [20.89 (SD± 0.94) years] was conducted in Mysore, India. A descriptive, comparative and multivariate analysis was performed. Results: The number of students who received formal training in smoking cessation approaches was only 14.04%. In total, two-thirds of medical students, compared to 38.9% of dental, 29.7% of pharmacy, and 11.40 % of nursing students, learned “the reasons why people smoke” as a part of their formal training. However, only less than a quarter of the study population were aware of the role of antidepressants in nicotine cessation medications. The total prevalence of tobacco use was 28.9%. A total of 37.72% wanted to quit smoking, while a mere 1.2% had sought any professional help to do so. Conclusions: Tobacco use in HCS, apart from personal health risks to themselves, may potentially affect their future commitment to support patients in tobacco cessation. There is a need for further research into tobacco prevention and cessation programs tailored to the needs of student groups. There is a need for an updated curriculum for tobacco cessation strategies and more research into better cessation strategies.

Download Full-text

The Pharmacist “Toolbox” for Smoking Cessation

Journal of Pharmacy Practice ◽

10.1177/0897190012460823 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 25 (6) ◽

pp. 591-599 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

William P. Wynn ◽

Ron T. Stroman ◽

Michaela M. Almgren ◽

Kelly J. Clark

Keyword(s):

Health Care ◽

Smoking Cessation ◽

Health Care Professionals ◽

Electronic Cigarettes ◽

The United States ◽

Review Article ◽

Prescription Medications ◽

Over The Counter ◽

Quit Smoking ◽

Traditional Therapies

Annually there are 500 000 preventable deaths in the United States caused by smoking; as health care professionals, pharmacists have a unique opportunity to advise, assess, and assist patients to quit smoking. This review article provides pharmacists with a “toolbox” containing an overview of pharmacologic and nonpharmacologic methods for smoking cessation. Currently approved over-the-counter (OTC) and prescription medications (nicotine replacement therapy, varenicline, and bupropion) are summarized, and nonpharmacologic therapies discussed include cognitive therapy and hypnosis. In addition to traditional therapies some potential approaches to smoking cessation are addressed, including nicotine immunizations and electronic cigarettes.

Download Full-text

Catalyst for Change: Measuring the Effectiveness of Training of All Health Care Professionals to Provide Brief Intervention for Smoking Cessation to Cancer Patients

Journal of Medical Imaging and Radiation Sciences ◽

10.1016/j.jmir.2019.10.002 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 51 (1) ◽

pp. 7-11 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Sadiya Coovadia ◽

Laura D'Alimonte ◽

Bonnie Bristow ◽

Elaine Curle ◽

Leslie Gibson ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Health Care ◽

Smoking Cessation ◽

Cancer Patients ◽

Brief Intervention ◽

Health Care Professionals ◽

Effectiveness Of Training

Download Full-text

P190 Attitudes of health care professionals towards smoking cessation

Thorax ◽

10.1136/thx.2010.151043.41 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 65 (Suppl 4) ◽

pp. A157-A158

Author(s):

S. Pearce ◽

J. Maycock ◽

C. McCauley ◽

D. Nazareth ◽

P. Stockton

Keyword(s):

Health Care ◽

Smoking Cessation ◽

Health Care Professionals

Download Full-text

The role of health care professionals in smoking cessation among patients with pulmonary diseases: an Italian multicentric survey

Annals of Oncology ◽

10.1093/annonc/mdv343.09 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 26 ◽

pp. vi75

Author(s):

S. Demichelis ◽

S.G. Rapetti ◽

D. Galetta ◽

A. Bruno ◽

E. Bria ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Health Care ◽

Smoking Cessation ◽

Health Care Professionals ◽

Pulmonary Diseases

Download Full-text

Tobacco Control and Nicotine Addiction in Canada: Current trends, Management and Challenges

Canadian Respiratory Journal ◽

10.1155/2009/485953 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 16 (1) ◽

pp. 21-26 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Andrew McIvor

Keyword(s):

Health Care ◽

Smoking Cessation ◽

Tobacco Control ◽

Health Care Professionals ◽

Health Care Organizations ◽

Nicotine Addiction ◽

Current Trends ◽

Canadian Health ◽

Canadian Health Care

Despite a significant decrease in tobacco use over the past four decades, cigarette smoking remains the leading preventable cause of death and disease in Canada. Nicotine addiction, unequal access to available support programs and gaps in continuity of health care are recognized as the main barriers to smoking cessation. To overcome these obstacles and to reach the Federal Tobacco Control Strategy goal of reducing smoking prevalence in Canada from 19% to 12% by 2011, several Canadian health care organizations developed extensive sets of recommendations. Improved access to affordable pharmacotherapies and behavioural counselling, better training of health care professionals and the addition of systemic cessation measures appear to be the key components in all of the proposed recommendations.The present article provides an overview of the current approaches to smoking cessation in Canada, describes the remaining challenges, and outlines recent recommendations that are geared toward not only tobacco control but also overall improvement in long-term health outcomes.

Download Full-text

Design and Development of Smoking Cessation Apps Based on Smokers’ and Providers’ Perspectives in China: Survey Study (Preprint)

10.2196/preprints.12200 ◽

2018 ◽

Author(s):

Junfang Xu ◽

Jonathan Bricker ◽

Xiaoxing Fu ◽

Chunyan Su ◽

Peicheng Wang ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Health Care ◽

Smoking Cessation ◽

Health Care Providers ◽

Health Care Professionals ◽

Family Members ◽

Strong Support ◽

Health Behavior Change ◽

Survey Study ◽

Care Providers ◽

Privacy And Security

BACKGROUND Although there are more than 60 smartphone apps for smoking cessation in China, many of them do not include the content and features that health care professionals and smokers prefer—which may make them impractical, unengaging, and ineffective. Therefore, we investigated both health care providers’ and smokers’ preferences for features of future smoking cessation apps. OBJECTIVE This study aimed to investigate Chinese health care providers’ and smokers’ desired features of a smoking cessation app, with the goal of providing design recommendations for app designers and researchers. METHODS Both Chinese smokers who own smartphones (n=357) and Chinese health care providers (n=224) responded to a survey collecting data on their sociodemographic characteristics and opinions on the importance of 20 smoking cessation app design features studied in previous US research. RESULTS Chinese health care providers expressed strong support of smoking cessation apps on a number of attitude indicators (range 153/224, 68.3% to 204/224, 91.1%). They rated nearly all (18/20) features as very or extremely important (range 52.2%-83.4%) and rated nearly all features (17/20) as more important than the smokers did. More than 60% of smokers rated the following 4 features as very or extremely important: allow sharing the process of smoking cessation with family members and friends (216/319, 67.7%), helping smokers track their progress (such as the amount of smoking per day; 213/319, 66.8%), helping with the side effects of medications and nicotine withdrawal symptoms (201/319, 63.0%), and adapting to ongoing needs and interests of smokers (194/319, 60.8%). Contrary to a similar study of US smokers and health care providers, Chinese smokers and providers rated reputation and ability to communicate with family members and friends as important features, whereas Chinese smokers rated privacy and security as less important. CONCLUSIONS The design of future smoking cessation and health behavior change apps should consider perspectives of both providers and smokers as well as the role of culture.

Download Full-text

Design and Development of Smoking Cessation Apps Based on Smokers’ and Providers’ Perspectives in China: Survey Study

JMIR mhealth and uhealth ◽

10.2196/12200 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 7 (10) ◽

pp. e12200

Author(s):

Junfang Xu ◽

Jonathan Bricker ◽

Xiaoxing Fu ◽

Chunyan Su ◽

Peicheng Wang ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Health Care ◽

Smoking Cessation ◽

Health Care Providers ◽

Health Care Professionals ◽

Family Members ◽

Strong Support ◽

Health Behavior Change ◽

Survey Study ◽

Care Providers ◽

Privacy And Security

Background Although there are more than 60 smartphone apps for smoking cessation in China, many of them do not include the content and features that health care professionals and smokers prefer—which may make them impractical, unengaging, and ineffective. Therefore, we investigated both health care providers’ and smokers’ preferences for features of future smoking cessation apps. Objective This study aimed to investigate Chinese health care providers’ and smokers’ desired features of a smoking cessation app, with the goal of providing design recommendations for app designers and researchers. Methods Both Chinese smokers who own smartphones (n=357) and Chinese health care providers (n=224) responded to a survey collecting data on their sociodemographic characteristics and opinions on the importance of 20 smoking cessation app design features studied in previous US research. Results Chinese health care providers expressed strong support of smoking cessation apps on a number of attitude indicators (range 153/224, 68.3% to 204/224, 91.1%). They rated nearly all (18/20) features as very or extremely important (range 52.2%-83.4%) and rated nearly all features (17/20) as more important than the smokers did. More than 60% of smokers rated the following 4 features as very or extremely important: allow sharing the process of smoking cessation with family members and friends (216/319, 67.7%), helping smokers track their progress (such as the amount of smoking per day; 213/319, 66.8%), helping with the side effects of medications and nicotine withdrawal symptoms (201/319, 63.0%), and adapting to ongoing needs and interests of smokers (194/319, 60.8%). Contrary to a similar study of US smokers and health care providers, Chinese smokers and providers rated reputation and ability to communicate with family members and friends as important features, whereas Chinese smokers rated privacy and security as less important. Conclusions The design of future smoking cessation and health behavior change apps should consider perspectives of both providers and smokers as well as the role of culture.

Download Full-text