Factors influencing intentions to integrate tobacco education among advanced practice nursing faculty

Abstract

We report on the findings of a national survey that examined factors that influence faculty's intentions to integrate tobacco education in their advanced practice nursing curricula. The addiction component of tobacco use is taking its toll on the health of 48 million smokers in the United States. Several national health authorities recommend and/or mandate that tobacco prevention and tobacco cessation be addressed at every point of entry in the health care delivery system. However, there is increasing evidence that health care providers may not be adequately prepared to meet national goals and/or standards. One hundred sixty-one advanced practice nursing faculty in the United States completed an 88-item survey regarding external factors (e.g., personal history of tobacco use, clinical practice, and current tobacco topics taught) and components of the Theory of Reasoned Action model (including perceived self-efficacy, behavioral beliefs, subjective norms, and control beliefs related to tobacco education). Descriptive statistics, chi(2) analysis, Pearson correlation, and linear regression were used to analyze the data. The findings revealed that sex (chi(2) = 7.949, P = .024), level of education (chi(2) = 26.853, P = .0005), years of academic teaching (chi(2) = 19.418, P = .013), and combined clinical and course responsibility (chi(2) = 10.430, P = .0236) were significant external (demographic) factors and that behavioral beliefs (attitude about tobacco education) demonstrated the strongest relationship with intention scores (r = 0.876, P < .0005). Overall, 62.7% of nurse practitioners reported high scores (>or=5, on a scale of 1-7) for intentions to integrate tobacco education, as compared with 37.5% of nurse midwives, 30.3% of clinical nurse specialists, and 8.7% of nurse anesthetists. This study adds to the growing body of evidence that nursing curricular gaps with tobacco education exist and that national efforts are needed to ensure that widespread changes occur to help reduce the morbidity and mortality related to tobacco use.