The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA

Abstract #63526

Linda Sarna, RN, DScN¹, Stella Aguinaga Bialous, RN, DrPH², Betty Smith Williams, DrPH, RN, FAAN³, Kim Hutchinson, EdD, RN⁴, and Leda Danao, BSN, PhD¹. (1) School of Nursing, University of California Los Angeles, Box 956918, Factor 4-262, Los Angeles, CA 90095-6918, (2) Consultant, 676 Funston Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94118, 415-876-2990, stella@bialous.com, (3) President, National Coalition of Ethnic Minority Nurse Associations, 5630 Arc Crest, Los Angeles, CA 90043, (4) Public Health Sciences, Wake Forest University Health Sciences, 2000 West First Street, Suite 244, Winston-Salem, NC 27157

Introduction: African Americans experience a disproportionate share of tobacco-related diseases and death. In addition, this group has not received equal access to smoking cessation and tobacco prevention services. The involvement of ethnic minority nurses delivering tobacco control interventions, especially among minority and underserved populations, is critical. Methods: As part of a larger study assessing the knowledge, attitudes and beliefs of nurses regarding smoking and tobacco control, we surveyed a convenience sample of African American nurses attending the 2002 annual meeting of the National Black Nurses Association. Results: A total of 163 nurses participated in the survey. Approximately 5% were current smokers and 22% were former smokers. Ninety-six percent felt that nurses should be non-smoking role models; 94% felt nurses should be involved in helping patients stop smoking. Sixty-three percent encountered patients who smoked at least every week, but only 17% provided counseling for smoking cessation. Despite its promotion, only 6% reported using the Treating Tobacco Use and Dependency Clinical Practice Guideline in clinical practice. Eighty percent felt that nurses should be very involved in tobacco control activities. Conclusion: The results of this survey confirm results from other nursing groups. Despite strong support for tobacco control and cessation intervention, these African American nurses lacked skills and knowledge to effectively provide assistance to their patients. They were also unaware of ways in which they can become more involved in tobacco advocacy and policy. Strategies to address this lack of knowledge and strategies to increase participation in tobacco control will be discussed.

Learning Objectives:

• 1.List barriers to nurses involvement in tobacco use prevention and cessation
• 2.Discuss options for disseminating knowledge about smoking cessation to different sub-groups of nursing professionals
• 3.Articulate the advantages and disadvantages of different opportunities to increase nursing involvement in tobacco use cessation.

Keywords: African American, Tobacco

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Disclosure not received
Relationship: Not Received.