The 13th World Conference on Tobacco OR Health

Objective: This study's goal was to describe and compare smoking habits, cessation education practices and perceived role in smoking cessation education of oncology nurses in Canada, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, United Kingdom, and the United States. Oncology nurses are uniquely positioned to lead in the building of a tobacco-free world. They see first-hand, the effects of tobacco use, and have access to the public and cancer patients who, given their diagnosis, are often receptive to cancer prevention messages. Therefore, it is essential to know if oncology nurses' are smoke-free themselves and whether they use their knowledge and access to patients to educate them about smoking cessation.

Methods: A convenience sample of oncology nurses was recruited from those attending nursing conferences/meetings of oncology nursing organizations. A total of 759 nurses (96 to 236 from each of the six countries) completed an anonymous, 27-question, Likert-type, investigator-designed survey, translated into their native language. Analysis is ongoing utilizing descriptive and non-parametric statistics.

Results: Preliminary analysis indicates that 23.3% of oncology nurses surveyed have smoked, but only 4.5% do currently. 74.2% of the nurses assess their patients' smoking habits frequently/always, but far fewer, 49.6%, discuss smoking cessation with those who smoke. Smoking was most prevalent among oncology nurses in the United Kingdom (13.9%). Japanese oncology nurses were most likely to assess the smoking behavior of patients (85%), however, less likely to discuss smoking cessation (27%). Further analysis will examine similarities and difference between countries as well as beliefs and barriers to smoking cessation and education.