Smoking behavior, knowledge, attitudes and practice among health care providers in Changsha city, China

With the smoking epidemic in China, the role that health care providers (HCPs) could play in tobacco control will be critical. As a preliminary step, this study identified smoking behavior, knowledge, attitudes, and practice (KAP) regarding smoking and smoking control among HCPs in Changsha city, China. The study design was cross-sectional. The instruments-Demographic Information Scale and KAP Scale-were distributed to 420 physicians and 400 nurses in four hospitals in Changsha city. The effective response rate was 77.56% (636/820). Among the respondents, 20.8% were current smokers, which represented 35.7% of the physicians and 1.4% of the nurses, and 43.0% of the males and 1.2% of the females. The mean knowledge score was 22.3 +/- 4.4 (n=30). Knowledge regarding smoking's harmful effects and smoking-related respiratory system diseases was high. Nonetheless, tobacco addiction was underestimated. The mean attitudes and practice score was 17.7 +/- 2.3, 15.1 +/- 3.4 (n = 20). Eighty-seven percent approved their role in smoking control, but only 45% HCPs practically informed patients about methods of smoking cessation. Smoking behavior was negatively associated with KAP, and 59.7% of the HCPs thought that inadequate knowledge affected their practice. In conclusion, HCPs had some knowledge and positive attitudes regarding the cessation of smoking, but were relatively unoptimistic regarding putting smoking control into practice. The high smoking rate among male HCPs and knowledge insufficiency about smoking may pose barriers in tobacco control efforts for HCPs. As such, interventions for the cessation of smoking, and continual education on smoking control for HCPs, are indicated in China.