The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA

Abstract #38914

Takashi Ohida and Tomofumi Sone. Department of Public Health Administration, National Institute of Public Health, Japan, 4-6-1 Shirokanedai, Minato-ku, Tokyo, 108-8638, Japan, +81-3-3441-7111, tohida@iph.go.jp

In Japan, an increase in the prevalence of smoking among women in their 20s was recently reported, and this trend is assumed to be reflected in the smoking prevalence of nursing students, where young women are over-represented. To obtain data on smoking prevalence of nursing students, a nationwide survey was conducted among the students of nursing (three-year program), public health nursing (PHN), and midwifery schools. Students of PHN and midwifery are qualified as nurses, and involved in one additional year training to acquire qualification. The survey was conducted in October 2000 using self-reported questionnaires. Among 465 nursing schools, 66 PHN schools, and 73 midwifery schools in Japan, 27 nursing schools, 17 PHN schools, and 16 midwifery schools were selected at random, and the survey was carried out on all students in the selected schools. Each response was collected with a sealed envelope. After excluding incomplete responses, 3762 responses (response rate 93%) for the nursing schools, 530 (91%) for the PHN schools, and 303 (95%) for the midwifery schools were analyzed, respectively. The prevalence of smoking among women was 25% in the nursing schools, 13% in the PHN schools, and 22% in the midwifery schools. In the nursing schools, the prevalence of smoking increased as the grade advanced. The nicotine dependency among female daily smokers in the nursing schools was higher than that in the PHN schools or midwifery schools. This survey shows that anti-smoking education in nursing schools is urgently needed in Japan.

Learning Objectives:

At the conclusion of the presentation, the participant will be able to
• Know smoking prevalence among nursing students in Japan.
• Discuss factors associated with smoking behavior among healthcare personnel including nurses.
• Discuss anti-smoking education programs for nursing students.

Keywords: Smoking, Health Care Workers

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.