Smoking cessation support: Indian nursing students' practices, attitudes and perceived barriers

Tobacco use is a significant global health issue. Studies that examined nursing students' attitudes towards smoking cessation support were limited from India.

To assess undergraduate nursing students' practices, beliefs, attitudes and perceived barriers towards smoking cessation support.

A cross-sectional descriptive design was adopted among undergraduate nursing students (n=178) using self-reported questionnaires.

Findings revealed that a majority (68.5%) of the students inquire about their clients' smoking habits and 78.1% of them advise patients who are smokers about the health effects of smoking. Although student nurses hold positive attitudes in the enthusiasm domain (28.8 ± 7.29), the majority of them lack self-efficacy towards smoking cessation support (14.2 ± 4.70). 'Patient's lack of motivation' (89.3%), 'lack of training/knowledge' (88.2%) and 'lack of communication skills' (77.5%) were the major barriers encountered by the participants during tobacco counselling.

The findings suggest that there is an urgent need to include a tobacco-control curriculum at undergraduate level to improve their competency in giving smoking cessation support.