Investigating Smoking Behaviors and Intentions to Quit Smoking Among Arab and Arab-American Adults

Background: The exceptionally high rate of smoking among Arab and Arab-Americans in the U.S. is a public health concern, given smoking's link to adverse health outcomes. The purpose of this study is to examine smoking behaviors and intentions to quit smoking among Arab and Arab-American adults living in the U.S. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study design, which used an online survey to collect quantitative data from n = 120 participants. The survey included 53 questions addressing a range of topics, including: demographics, smoking habits, health beliefs, acculturative stress, psychological distress, and family cohesion. Results: The results revealed that factors related to religion, health beliefs, and psychological distress were statistically associated with intentions to quit smoking in Arab and Arab-Americans living in the U.S. Conclusion: Data from this study can be used to inform smoking cessation programs aimed at reducing tobacco use and smoking-related health problems experienced among Arabs living in the U.S .. Identifying causes of high tobacco usage such as inaccurate health beliefs held among Arab-American populations can help health educators to design more effective smoking cessation intervention in the future.Master of ScienceHealth EducationUniversity of Michigan-Flinthttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/143326/1/Alshehab.pd