BACKGROUND: Tobacco use continues to be the leading cause of preventable death worldwide.
OBJECTIVE: To assess perceived tobacco educational preparation of undergraduate and graduate nurses in a large urban university.
DESIGN: A cross-sectional web-based survey of all nursing students in an urban college of nursing was conducted to assess perceived tobacco educational content, skills, and self-efficacy for cessation counseling with patients who smoke cigarettes and use alternative tobacco products (e.g., hookah and e-cigarettes).
RESULTS: Participants reported the most education about health effects of tobacco use (67%), and less than 6% reported education about alternative tobacco products. While the majority of nurses agreed that advising patients to quit is a priority, less than 40% reported receiving sufficient training in cessation counseling.
CONCLUSIONS: There continues to be a compelling need articulated by leaders in tobacco policy and research over the past decade for a more vigorous response by nurses to the tobacco epidemic.
Nursing education to reduce use of tobacco and alternative tobacco products: Change is imperative
Journal of the American Psychiatric Nurses Association, 23 (6), 414-421. doi: 10.1177/1078390317711252.