In-hospital smoking cessation programs: what do VA patients and staff want and need?

Duffy, Sonia A.; Reeves, Pamela; Hermann, Christopher; Karvonen, Carrie; Smith, Patricia

doi:10.1016/j.apnr.2006.11.002

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Volume 21, Issue 4 , Pages 199-206, November 2008

In-hospital smoking cessation programs: what do VA patients and staff want and need?

Sonia A. Duffy, PhD, RN
- VA HSR&D Center for Practice Management and Outcomes Research, VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System, Ann Arbor, MI 48113-0170, USA
- Departments of Otolaryngology and Psychiatry, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-2205, USA
- Department of Veterans Affairs, VISN 11 Healthcare Network, Ann Arbor, MI 48113-4002, USA
- Corresponding author. VA HSR&D Center for Practice Management and Outcomes Research, VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System (11H), PO Box 130170, Ann Arbor, MI 48113-0170, USA. Tel.: +1 734 769 7100x6210; fax: +1 734 761 2939.
Pamela Reeves, MD
- School of Nursing, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-0482, USA
- Department of Internal Medicine, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor MI, 48109-0368, USA
Christopher Hermann, MSN
- John D. Dingell VA Medical Center, Detroit, MI 48201-1916, USA
Carrie Karvonen, MPH
- VA HSR&D Center for Practice Management and Outcomes Research, VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System, Ann Arbor, MI 48113-0170, USA
Patricia Smith, PhD
- Northern Ontario School of Medicine, Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada P7B 5E1

Received 17 August 2006; received in revised form 24 November 2006; accepted 28 November 2006.

Abstract

In preparation for delivering an inpatient smoking cessation intervention, surveys and interviews of general inpatients and staff were conducted in two Veterans Affairs (VA) hospitals to determine the motivation of veterans to quit smoking and to identify facilitators and barriers to inpatient staff delivery of inpatient cessation services. Seventy percent of inpatients were “motivated smokers” (thinking of quitting in the next 30 days), yet only 17% stated that they received cessation services during their hospitalization. Most staff said that VA should do more to assist patients to quit, yet less than half said that they personally provided cessation services due to lack of confidence/training and hesitancy to upset patients. Given the high motivation to quit among hospitalized veterans and the lack of knowledge about providing cessation services among nurses, training health professionals may facilitate and overcome barriers to the provision of these services. As frontline providers, nurses are ideally positioned to deliver inpatient smoking cessation services to hospitalized veterans.