Knowledge and attitudes about smoking cessation among pharmacy technicians.
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the knowledge and attitudes of pharmacy technicians before and after attending a continuing education program about smoking cessation.


METHODS
A pre/post survey of a single group.


METHODS
Two statewide meetings of the Iowa Pharmacy Association.


METHODS
Pharmacy technicians.


METHODS
One 2-hour continuing education (CE) course about smoking cessation for pharmacy technicians.


METHODS
Changes in scores before and after the CE sessions among three domains (knowledge, efficacy, and outcome) of a validated survey instrument.


RESULTS
Fifty-one technicians completed both the presession and postsession questionnaire. For the three survey domains, technicians' knowledge (P = .034), efficacy (P < .001), and outcome (P < .001) showed significant improvement between the presession and postsession surveys (Wilcoxon signed rank test).


CONCLUSIONS
Pharmacy technicians who attended a CE program on smoking cessation improved their knowledge, attitudes, and self-confidence in helping smokers quit. Additional research should be conducted to test the role of pharmacy technicians in smoking cessation promotion.
Zillich
Alan J
AJ
Department of Pharmacy Practice, College of Pharmacy, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Ind, USA.
Aquilino
Mary L
ML
Farris
Karen B
KB
D000328:Adult; D004513:Education, Pharmacy, Continuing; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D007484:Iowa; D008297:Male; D010595:Pharmacists; D016540:Smoking Cessation; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires