Premium
Nurses, smoking, and the workplace
Author(s) -
Sarna Linda,
Bialous Stella Aguinaga,
Wewers Mary Ellen,
Froelicher Erika Sivarajan,
Danao Leda
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
research in nursing and health
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.836
H-Index - 85
eISSN - 1098-240X
pISSN - 0160-6891
DOI - 10.1002/nur.20059
Subject(s) - smoking cessation , medicine , focus group , quit smoking , social support , smoke , nursing , smoking ban , occupational stress , family medicine , environmental health , psychology , clinical psychology , social psychology , physics , pathology , marketing , meteorology , business
The purpose of this study was to examine attitudes and experiences of nurses regarding smoking and smoking cessation in the workplace. Eight focus groups were conducted with current or former smokers ( n = 60). A questionnaire provided information about smoking history. Content analysis revealed six themes: taking breaks, stress and smoking, social support from colleagues, hiding smoking from patients and their families, impact of workplace smoking restrictions, and challenges to smoking cessation in the workplace. Nurses who smoke were perceived as taking more breaks and spending less time with patients than those who do not smoke. These findings document the impact of smoking among nurses in the workplace. Strategies are needed to support smoking cessation efforts of nurses as an important occupational health issue. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Res Nurs Health 28:79–90, 2005