MONDAY, Sept. 21 (HealthDay News) -- Pediatric nurses are often in contact with smokers among the parents of their patients, but they seldom engage in smoking cessation activities with them, according to a study in the September issue of the Journal of Emergency Nursing.
Leslie Deckter, of the University of Cincinnati, and colleagues conducted an anonymous survey of 130 emergency department registered nurses working at a tertiary pediatric hospital in Ohio, asking them for information on their knowledge of and attitudes toward smoking cessation advice for the parents of their patients. There was a 67 percent response rate to the survey.
Although approximately 22 percent of respondents reported that they assess the smoking status of parents, only 14 percent encouraged them to quit smoking, and less than 5 percent offered cessation counseling or help, the researchers found. The reasons for avoiding the topic of smoking cessation included lack of materials and fears of parental resistance, complaints and anger.
"More than 60 percent of respondents agreed that they should learn new ways to help parents quit," the authors write. "Given the perceived barriers of parent response to providing counseling, educational programs that include effective counseling techniques need to be developed and tested. Training modules, including information on Motivational Interviewing, may help registered nurses feel more confident in their ability to bring up tobacco cessation and get positive responses from parents."
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