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A Comparison of Survey Measures and Biomarkers of Secondhand Tobacco Smoke Exposure among Nonsmokers
Author(s) -
Okoli Chizimuzo
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
public health nursing
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.471
H-Index - 55
eISSN - 1525-1446
pISSN - 0737-1209
DOI - 10.1111/phn.12207
Subject(s) - cotinine , psychosocial , environmental health , secondhand smoke , medicine , tobacco smoke , cross sectional study , nicotine , psychiatry , pathology
Objectives Secondhand tobacco smoke ( SHS ) exposure causes several adverse physical health outcomes. Conceptual differences in survey measures of ‘psychosocial’ ( SHS exposure from smokers in an individual's life) and ‘physical’ (environments where an individual is exposed to SHS ) SHS exposure exist. Few studies have examined the association between psychosocial and physical SHS exposures measures in comparison to biomarkers of SHS exposure. Design and Sample A secondary analysis of cross‐sectional data was examined among a convenience sample of 20 adults. Measures Data included survey items on SHS exposure and hair nicotine and saliva cotinine levels. Spearman analysis was used to assess correlations among variables. Results Medium and strong correlations were found among SHS exposure measures with the exception of saliva cotinine levels. Strong correlations were found among and between psychosocial and physical SHS exposure measures. Hair nicotine levels had medium strength associations with only perceived frequency of SHS exposure. Discussion As psychosocial measures of exposure were associated with biomarkers, such measures (particularly perceived frequency of SHS exposure) should be added to surveys in addition to physical SHS exposure measures to enhance accuracy of SHS measurement. Future explorations with robust sample sizes should further examine the strength of relationship between psychosocial and physical SHS exposure measures.