NURSES' KNOWLEDGE, ATTITUDE AND PRACTICE REGARDING SECONDHAND SMOKE,AN INTERVENTION STUDY

Abstract

Background: Smoking is a growing public health problem in Egypt. In 1997, it was estimated that 43.6% of adult males and 4.8% of adult females smoked. Secondhand smoke, known as environmental tobacco smoke (ETS), is a mixture of the sidestream smoke given off by the burning end of a cigarette, pipe or cigar and the smoke exhaled from the lungs of smokers. Non-smokers exposed to secondhand smoke (SHS) at work are at increased risk for adverse health effects.Objectives: To assess nurses' knowledge, attitude and practice regarding secondhand smoke and to reassess them once more after an intervention health education setting. Participants and Methods: This study was conducted at Menoufiya university hospitals. Two hundred and seventeen nurses were selected as a study group. A predesigned self-administered questionnaire regarding KAP of nurses about SHS was filled by each participant. Urine samples were collected and analyzed for quantitative detection of cotinine level. Results: Nurses had general knowledge about SHS specially its related diseases; however, they had deficient attitude and poor practice towards it. The intervention health education setting, significantly, raised nurses' KAP about SHS and, also, significantly decreased the urinary cotinine level. Conclusion: Nurses had some knowledge about the health effect of SHS however,their attitude and practice towards it, are still in need for more efforts to include smoking as a major problem in the nursing education curriculum.