Nicotine addiction in pre-hospital emergency care workers in Turkey: a cross-sectional study

Abstract

ABSTRACT Objective This study aims to determine the smoking prevalence and nicotine addiction in pre-hospital emergency care workers. Methods The study, conducted between March-April 2022 with the participation of 318 pre-hospital care workers, is cross-sectional. To determine the participants’ nicotine addiction levels, the participants the Fagerström Nicotine Addiction Test (FNAT) was used. For statistical analyses, correlation, chi-square, student’s t-test, and analysis of variance (ANOVA) were used. The statistical significance level was accepted as p < .05. Results While 53.0% Of The Study Group Used To Smoke, 9.1% Thought That Smoking Was Not harmful to health. The mean FNAT score of the smoking group was 5.04 ± 2.92. Men’s FNAT scores (p < .05) were higher for those over the age of 40 than for those under 40 than women (p < .05). In the comparison made according to the participants’ occupations, the most smoking group was physicians (p < .05). The group with the highest addiction score among smokers was nurses (p < .05). A positive correlation was found between the years of employment in the sector and the FNAT scores of smokers (r = 0.146, p < .05). Conclusion Pre-hospital emergency care workers had a much higher smoking prevalence and nicotine addiction than the medical staff in other units.