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
. 2010 Jun;55(3):177-83.
doi: 10.1007/s00038-009-0109-8. Epub 2009 Dec 15.

The attitude toward tobacco dependence and barriers to discussing smoking cessation: a survey among Turkish general practitioners

Munire Gokirmak  1 , Onder Ozturk, Ahmet Bircan, Ahmet Akkaya
Affiliations

The attitude toward tobacco dependence and barriers to discussing smoking cessation: a survey among Turkish general practitioners

Munire Gokirmak et al. Int J Public Health. 2010 Jun.

Abstract

Objectives: To evaluate the general attitude of a sample of Turkish general practitioners (GPs) toward tobacco dependence and to assess their knowledge and behavior regarding smoking cessation (SC).

Methods: A self-administered questionnaire modified from WHO, Global Health Professional Survey was distributed to GPs, working in our district, Isparta.

Results: As much as 41% of GPs were current smokers. Ever smokers were generally less likely to agree with statements that would change their freedom to smoke in certain places. While 46% of GPs frequently inquired about tobacco use in their patients, 13.5% did not advise any of their patients to quit smoking during the month preceding the questionnaire. The most common barriers reported by GPs to discussing SC with their patients were as follows: considering the discussion not to be effective (57.8%), having low confidence in knowledge (48.1%), having unpleasant personal experience or considering it a thankless task (46.1%).

Conclusions: It appears essential to reduce the number of GPs who smoke and to improve GP training on SC procedures for integrating SC treatment into primary care in Turkey.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2008 Apr 16;(2):CD000165 - PubMed
    1. Respirology. 2006 May;11(3):311-6 - PubMed
    1. Fam Med. 2005 May;37(5):354-9 - PubMed
    1. Br Med J. 1979 Jul 28;2(6184):231-5 - PubMed
    1. Eur J Public Health. 2005 Apr;15(2):140-5 - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources