An exploration of health beliefs and attitudes of smokers with vascular disease who participate in or decline a smoking cessation program

Abstract

The descriptive cross-sectional aspect of this study compared a group of smokers with peripheral arterial disease who chose to participate in a smoking intervention with a group of smokers with peripheral arterial disease who declined to participate. The longitudinal aspect of this study used Ajzen and Fishbein's1 Theory of Reasoned Action, Keeney's2 Expected Utility Decision Theory, and Prochaska and DiClemente's3 Transtheoretical Model of Change to describe the influence of this smoking cessation program on the beliefs and attitudes about smoking in group 1. Smokers completed a smoking beliefs questionnaire with vascular disease at baseline and after 13 weeks of smoking cessation intervention. Smokers who did not want to participate in the smoking cessation program also completed this questionnaire for comparison. Statistically significant differences were found to differentiate people who enrolled in the smoking cessation program from those who did not. Subjects in group 2 smoked less per day, were less educated, were less often diagnosed as having peripheral arterial disease, were found to be more in the precontemplation stage of change in smoking cessation, cared more about what their physician and family thought they should do, and perceived themselves to be at less risk for developing more severe circulatory problems if they did not quit smoking. After 13 weeks, participants in both groups 1 and 2 were found to smoke significantly less per day. No support was found for the expectation that the smoking intervention would influence stage of change in smoking behavior or attitudes and beliefs about the risks of smoking to the participants' health after 13 weeks. (J Vasc Nurs 2002;20:96-105)