Smoking Cessation Education for Acute Care Nurses

Tobacco use among veterans is significantly higher than among members of the general population. The purpose of this quality-improvement project was to increase acute care staff members’ knowledge and confidence in using tobacco cessation interventions to increase quit rates among the inpatients of a veterans’ hospital in the midwestern region of the United States. An evidence-based, standardized Tobacco Tactics Toolkit was developed and implemented, and a 6 sigma method guided the quality improvement process to define, measure, analyze, improve, and control the tobacco-cessation education initiative. The reach, effectiveness, adoption, implementation, and maintenance framework was used to ensure that evidence-based interventions were applicable to practice. The transtheoretical model was also used to understand the changing behavior of individuals addicted to tobacco and explain the phenomena of nicotine dependence. A convenience sample method was used, and a 10-question pre- and posttest was administered to 12 staff members. Results showed a 60% increase in posttest scores indicating a significant improvement in staff confidence, knowledge, and willingness to implement tobacco-cessation interventions. The Tobacco Tactics Toolkit has the potential to positively impact social change by increasing quit rates, decreasing admissions, and improving quality of life among veterans