Clinical Scholarship Nurses ’ Tobacco-Related Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practice in Four Major Cities in China

Purpose: To (a) identify Chinese nurses ’ tobacco-related knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP), including perception of competency in smoking-cessation interventions; (b) identify barriers and facilitators to smoking cessation interventions to patients; and (c) assess the learning needs and smoking status of nurses. Design: A cross-sectional survey was conducted in four major cities (Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Chongqing) in China from November to December 2003. Methods: 2,888 registered nurses working in hospitals affiliated with five university schools of nursing in these cities were invited to complete a questionnaire. An instrument used to assess tobacco-related KAP in Hong Kong was translated into Chinese and pilot tested to ensure reliability and validity. Findings: 2,179 questionnaires were returned and after exclusion of the grossly incomplete questionnaires, 1,690 were included in the present analysis. Only 2 % of participants were current and 1 % were former smokers; most had not received training for smoking-cessation interventions as part of their nursing education program. Two-thirds recognized smoking as a leading cause of preventable death and that smoking cessation was the most cost effective intervention, but only a third routinely assisted patients ’ quit attempts. Nurses who received training reported greater competence in providing smoking-cessation intervention, and more frequent practice of cessation interventions. Conclusions: Chinese nurses had some knowledge about the health effects of tobacco use, but seldom practiced smoking-cessation interventions. Those who had prior training had greater competence and more practice. Including tobacco control, especially smoking ces-sation, in nursing curricula in China has the potential to save millions of lives