Practice nurses' self-reported opportunistic smoking cessation advice in three contexts

Area of Science:

• Nursing Practice
• Public Health
• Behavioral Science

Background:

• Smoking cessation interventions are crucial for public health.
• Practice nurses play a vital role in delivering health advice.
• Understanding nurses' current practices and beliefs regarding smoking cessation is essential.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare practice nurses' smoking cessation advice delivery in cervical screening versus cardiovascular disease (CVD) screening and diabetes care.
• To compare nurses' beliefs about providing smoking cessation advice across these three contexts.
• To identify key predictors of nurses' smoking cessation advice delivery during cervical screening.

Main Methods:

• A survey was administered to 152 practice nurses in the United Kingdom.
• Data collected included frequency of smoking cessation advice and beliefs about its provision.
• Comparative analysis was performed across cervical screening, CVD screening, and diabetes care contexts.

Main Results:

• Nurses reported higher frequency of smoking cessation advice and more positive beliefs in CVD screening and diabetes care compared to cervical screening.
• Beliefs regarding the appropriateness and practicality of advice were the strongest predictors of advice-giving in cervical screening.
• Significant differences in reported practices and beliefs were observed across the three screening contexts.

Conclusions:

• Practice nurses are more likely to offer smoking cessation advice in established contexts like CVD and diabetes care.
• Barriers related to perceived appropriateness and practicality hinder smoking cessation advice during cervical screening.
• Targeted interventions addressing these barriers are needed to increase smoking cessation support in cervical screening settings.