Perceptions of Health Care Professionals Providing Smoking Cessation in Health Care Settings

Tobacco use affects many individuals in the United States and around the world, particularly those who have existing health disparities. Smoking cessation therapy is a process used by health care professionals (HCPs) to help aid in the reduction or elimination of tobacco use. HCPs providing this service in health care settings can reach patients directly while helping to decrease the mortality rate in those who use tobacco. The purpose of this phenomenological qualitative study was to identify HCPs’ perceptions of patient barriers to adherence to smoking cessation services and what can be done to improve smoking cessation in health care settings. Convenience sampling was used to recruit a total of 15 HCPs at an urban healthcare facility in Hartford, Connecticut. Participating HCPs were interviewed in a private setting, where face-to-face semi-structured interviews took place. The theory of planned behavior was used to examine how HCPs perceive smoking cessation in their health care settings and how their perceptions and behaviors contribute to their patients’ success with the intervention. The qualitative data analysis software NVivo was used to code themes that emerged from the interview questions. The findings revealed that most of the HCPs had an understanding as to why their patients continued to smoke tobacco despite the in-house resources provided to them. The study also revealed that HCPs’ education and training on smoking cessation therapy directly impacted their delivery of cessation therapy. Results of this study may provide HCPs in different sectors of health care, the necessity information to develop effective smoking cessation programs in health care settings