Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Comparative Study
. 2007 Jun;22(6):749-54.
doi: 10.1007/s11606-007-0158-8. Epub 2007 Mar 1.

Decreased awareness of current smoking among health care providers of HIV-positive compared to HIV-negative veterans

Kristina Crothers  1 , Joseph L Goulet, Maria C Rodriguez-Barradas, Cynthia L Gibert, Adeel A Butt, R Scott Braithwaite, Robin Peck, Amy C Justice
Affiliations
Comparative Study

Decreased awareness of current smoking among health care providers of HIV-positive compared to HIV-negative veterans

Kristina Crothers et al. J Gen Intern Med. 2007 Jun.

Abstract

Background: Cigarette smoking is an important risk factor for morbidity and mortality in HIV-positive patients on combination antiretroviral therapy.

Objective: To determine whether awareness of smoking differs between HIV and non-HIV providers, and to identify factors associated with failure to recognize current smoking.

Design: Observational study.

Participants: 801 HIV-positive and 602 HIV-negative patients, 72 HIV and 71 non-HIV providers enrolled in the Veterans Aging Cohort 5 Site Study.

Measurements: Data sources included patient and provider questionnaires; electronic medical records; and the national administrative VA database. We calculated sensitivity, specificity, and measures of agreement between patient- and provider-reported smoking, and examined factors associated with failure to recognize current smoking using logistic regression.

Results: Whereas most providers were correct when they identified a patient as a current smoker (specificity > or = 90%), HIV providers missed current smoking more often (sensitivity 65% for HIV vs. 82% for non-HIV). Kappa scores for current smoking were significantly lower for HIV compared to non-HIV providers (0.55 vs. 0.75, p < .001). In models adjusted for age, gender, race, and other differences, patient HIV status and provider specialty in infectious diseases were independent predictors of a provider's failure to recognize current smoking. Comorbid illnesses, cough/dyspnea, degree of immune competence and HIV viral suppression did not impact recognition of current smoking. Only 39% of HIV providers reported confidence in their ability to influence smoking cessation compared to 62% of non-HIV providers (p = .049).

Conclusions: Interventions to increase HIV provider awareness of current smoking and skills to influence smoking cessation are needed. Efforts should also target patient populations with smoking-related comorbid diseases who would especially benefit from smoking cessation.

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. {'text': '', 'ref_index': 1, 'ids': [{'type': 'PubMed', 'value': '16446262', 'is_inner': True, 'url': 'https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16446262/'}]}
    2. Patel N, Talwar A, Reichert VC, Brady T, Jain M, Kaplan MH. Tobacco and HIV. Clin Occup Environ Med. 2006;5(1):193–207, xi. - PubMed
    1. {'text': '', 'ref_index': 1, 'ids': [{'type': 'PubMed', 'value': '8948377', 'is_inner': True, 'url': 'https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8948377/'}]}
    2. Burns DN, Hillman D, Neaton JD, et al. Cigarette smoking, bacterial pneumonia, and other clinical outcomes in HIV-1 infection. Terry Beirn Community Programs for Clinical Research on AIDS. J Acquir Immune Defic Syndr Hum Retrovirol. 1996;13(4):374–83. - PubMed
    1. {'text': '', 'ref_index': 1, 'ids': [{'type': 'DOI', 'value': '10.1086/314048', 'is_inner': False, 'url': 'https://doi.org/10.1086/314048'}, {'type': 'PubMed', 'value': '11017836', 'is_inner': True, 'url': 'https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11017836/'}]}
    2. Niaura R, Shadel WG, Morrow K, Tashima K, Flanigan T, Abrams DB. Human immunodeficiency virus infection, AIDS, and smoking cessation: the time is now. Clin Infect Dis. 2000;31(3):808–12. - PubMed
    1. {'text': '', 'ref_index': 1, 'ids': [{'type': 'DOI', 'value': '10.1089/108729102753429389', 'is_inner': False, 'url': 'https://doi.org/10.1089/108729102753429389'}, {'type': 'PubMed', 'value': '11839217', 'is_inner': True, 'url': 'https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11839217/'}]}
    2. Mamary EM, Bahrs D, Martinez S. Cigarette smoking and the desire to quit among individuals living with HIV. AIDS Patient Care STDS. 2002;16(1):39–42. - PubMed
    1. {'text': '', 'ref_index': 1, 'ids': [{'type': 'DOI', 'value': '10.1080/14622200500186064', 'is_inner': False, 'url': 'https://doi.org/10.1080/14622200500186064'}, {'type': 'PubMed', 'value': '16085522', 'is_inner': True, 'url': 'https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16085522/'}]}
    2. Burkhalter JE, Springer CM, Chhabra R, Ostroff JS, Rapkin BD. Tobacco use and readiness to quit smoking in low-income HIV-infected persons. Nicotine Tob Res. 2005;7(4):511–22. - PubMed

Publication types

Substances