193986 Smoking Practices among Jordanian Nurses and Physicians

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Kawkab Shishani, PhD , Hashemite university, Zarqa, Jordan
Erika Sivarajan Froelicher, PhD , Department of Physiological Nursing, Department of Epidemiology & Biostatistics, UCSF, San Francisco, CA
Background: Health professionals who smoke send conflicting message to public by practicing one of the well known risky behaviors.

Methods: A total of 918 nurses and physicians participated in this study. Data were collected in 2007 using the Global Professional Health Survey developed by the world Health Organization.

Results: Approximately 38.8% are current smokers (of the men 50.6% and 14.9 of the women). We evaluated the independent contribution of five variables using a logistic regression analysis and to assess the potential interaction (of gender and profession). The odds ratios (OR) and 95% Confidence Intervals (CI) for the five variables (and the interaction term) were: shift work OR=1.45, 95% CI= 1.04, 2.03; first tried cigarettes OR=6.36, 95% CI= 4.48,9.04; father smokes OR = 1.95, 95% CI= 1.40, 2.72; mother smokes OR=1.99, 95% CI=1.18, 3.39; and the interaction (gender and profession) OR =1.82, 95% CI=1.55, 2.14. Conclusions: smoking is a serious problem among nurses and physicians in Jordan. Considerable knowledge deficit exists with respect to the addictive properties of tobacco. Jordanian nurses and physicians need training and counseling on smoking cessation.

Learning Objectives:
Examine the impact of smoker RNs and MDs behaviors on the public

Keywords: Tobacco, Global Education

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: Have several publications in the area of tobacco use. Memeber in the Jordanian Antismoking Society where I am involved in providing health education at schools, workplaces. Also As a member I am responsible for a WHO supported surveillance of tobacco use among adolescent
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

See more of: Health care professionals’ roles in tobacco cessation
See more of: Alcohol, Tobacco, and Other Drugs