title: The role of stress, peer influence and education levels on the smoking behaviour of nurses.
abstract: Smoking kills yet a substantial number of qualified nurses continue to smoke. Stress, peer influence and education levels have been cited as influencing prevalence levels among nurses. A self-completed questionnaire was used to survey qualified nurses' perceptions of smoking prevalence, attitudes, and reasons for smoking. The respondents were composed of a random sample (n=1074) of qualified nurses employed in Northern Ireland. Results show that 25.8% of the sample smoked. Factors influencing smoking behaviour and reasons for continuing smoking are explored. This paper discusses the implications of these findings for nursing and nurses' health promotion activities.
authors.affiliation: School of Life Sciences, University of Ulster, Jordanstown, Co Antrim BT37 0QB, UK. pf.slater@ulster.ac.uk
authors.forename: Hugh
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: McKenna
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Slater
authors.forename: Tanya
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: McCance
authors.forename: Brendan
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Bunting
authors.forename: Arlene
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Spiers
authors.forename: Gerry
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: McElwee
mesh_terms: D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D001294:Attitude to Health; D004522:Educational Status; D005260:Female; D015438:Health Behavior; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009042:Motivation; D009660:Northern Ireland / Q000453:epidemiology; D009740:Nursing Staff / Q000193:education* / Q000523:psychology*; D010379:Peer Group; D015995:Prevalence; D012907:Smoking / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology*; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires