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
. 2023 Jan 23;11(3):336.
doi: 10.3390/healthcare11030336.

The Role of Physiotherapists in Smoking Cessation Management: A Scoping Review

Mohammad Z Darabseh  1 , Aseel Aburub  2 , Eman E Fayed  3   4
Affiliations

The Role of Physiotherapists in Smoking Cessation Management: A Scoping Review

Mohammad Z Darabseh et al. Healthcare (Basel). .

Abstract

Physiotherapy (PT) is a profession that includes education and close contact for long periods of time with patients for treatment sessions. Globally, smoking is prevalent and is expected to increase in the next decades; thus, smoking cessation (SC) is an important management strategy to mitigate further escalation. Little is known about PT practice in SC, and therefore, this study aimed to systematically review and discuss the published literature about the role of physiotherapists in smoking cessation management, opinions, and prevalence of SC counselling in physiotherapy practice; and to explore barriers towards smoking cessation counselling within physiotherapy practice. A systematic search was conducted through EBSCO, and articles were included if they assessed the role of PTs in SC management. The databases were searched for studies published between 1 January 1970 to 1 April 2022. Articles were excluded if they did not include PTs, if they did not include assessment of SC management/counselling, if they were not cross-sectional studies, if they were not written in the English language, or if they were conference abstracts. Seven studies were included in the review. The search identified no studies that have investigated the role of PTs in vaping cessation. It was found that PTs are not addressing SC counselling and management enough in their practice. In addition, the search revealed that lack of training, time, and knowledge are the most common barriers against including SC counselling in physiotherapy practice and rehabilitation programs. Exploring possibilities of including SC counselling according to the clinical guidelines is encouraged. Additionally, establishing solutions to overcome barriers against SC counselling as part of physiotherapy practice is essential.

Keywords: counselling; healthcare; patient education; physiotherapy; rehabilitation programme; smoking cessation; tobacco prevention.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
PRISMA flowchart for the search records and the included studies.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. World Health Organization . WHO Report on the Global Tobacco Epidemic, 2021: Addressing New and Emerging Products. World Health Organization; Geneva, Switzerland: 2021.
    1. Office of National Statistics Adult Smoking Habits in the UK: 2017. Office of National Statistics Accessed, 2018. [(accessed on 30 December 2018)]; Available online: https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/healthandsocialcare/....
    1. Cornish D., Brookman A., Horton M., Scanlon S. Adult Smoking Habits in the UK: 2018. Office For National Statistics: Office For National Statistics; London, UK: 2019.
    1. Jamal A., King B.A., Neff L.J., Whitmill J., Babb S.D., Graffunder C.M. Current cigarette smoking among adults—United States, 2005–2015. Morb. Mortal. Wkly. Rep. 2016;65:1205–1211. doi: 10.15585/mmwr.mm6544a2. - DOI - PubMed
    1. US Department of Health and Human Services . The Health Consequences of Smoking—50 Years of Progress: A Report of the Surgeon General. US Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease; Atlanta, GA, USA: 2014. - PubMed

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources