Gesouli-Voltyraki Eftyhia
Background: Greece maintains one of the highest rates of smoking globally, especially among health professionals. Smoking is considered a chronic relapsing condition, whose treatment is often difficult. Aim: The aim of the present study was to investigate the intention of quit smoking among clinical nurses-regular smokers in primary and secondary health care settings. Material and method: The sample of the study consisted of 252 clinical nurses -all regular smokers- selected among 470 nurses working in the hospitals included in the study. A questionnaire with closed type questions was used to assess the intention to seek for medical help and quit smoking. The level of statistical significance was set at p = 0.05. Results: Smokers ratio in the study sample was 252/470 (53.6%). Women account for 71.8% of the sample. Mean age of participants was 37.90±10.4 yrs. 43.4% had tried at least once to quit smoking, while 14.2% was decisively oriented towards smoking cessation. The majority would appeal to a specialist and use medication. Men, with a statistically significant difference in comparison to women, stated that they spend a lot of money to buy cigarettes. A greater percentage of married individuals reported that they feel guilty in the eyes of their social milieu. Conclusion: A large percentage of health professionals are regular smokers and a small percentage think about quitting. Despite smoking cessation desire, which is expressed by a vast rate of smokers, appealing to well documented medical procedures remains doubtful.
