The role of stress, peer influence and education levels on the smoking behaviour of nurses.
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.
McKenna
Hugh
H
School of Life Sciences, University of Ulster, Jordanstown, Co Antrim BT37 0QB, UK. pf.slater@ulster.ac.uk
Slater
Paul
P
McCance
Tanya
T
Bunting
Brendan
B
Spiers
Arlene
A
McElwee
Gerry
G
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