2006 OPEN FORUM Abstracts
SMOKING CESSATION INSERVICE TRAINING FOR RESPIRATORY THERAPISTS;
Georgianna Sergakis,
M.S., RRT, Sarah M. Varekojis, PhD, RRT, Nikki Johnson, B.S., CRT, and
Heather Zuber, B.S., CRT; Respiratory Therapy Division, School of Allied
Medical Professions, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio.
Background: Virtually 22% of
U.S.
adults persistently use tobacco. When asked 70% of these adults express they
want to quit. Studies have shown that hospitalization is the ideal moment to
promote smoking cessation to these patients. Respiratory Therapists are not
taking a significant role in smoking cessation at the bedside even when they
have the knowledge base and opportunity. The purpose of this study was to see
if a one hour in-service on smoking cessation education at the bedside is
effective in assisting
Respiratory Therapists to enhance their knowledge on topics of smoking
cessation education, improve their attitudes about providing smoking cessation
education, and develop effective practices and achieve confidence in providing
smoking cessation education at the bedside.
Methods: The participants
were a sample from the 125 Respiratory Therapists that currently work at The
Ohio State University Medical Center who agreed to volunteer for the study. Each
therapist involved completed a pretest before attending a one-hour in-service
or watching the in-service on CD. Three months after completion of the
in-service, each RT in the study was contacted by mail for an identical post-test.
The pre and post-test was field tested and reviewed by a panel of experts. The
survey included topics such as work experience, age, gender, knowledge about
smoking cessation, attitudes toward presenting smoking cessation, current
practices, and confidence when providing smoking cessation.
Results: 14 of 23 surveys were returned (61.8%). The mean age was
32.36 years and their mean number of years worked as Respiratory Therapists was
9.5 years. Most (79%) were Registered
Respiratory Therapists and 64% had Bachelor's degrees. Before attending the
in-service, 3 of 14 (21.4%) therapists surveyed reported that overall they felt
confident or very confident in their ability to talk with their patients about
smoking cessation. Post-in-service, 50% reported that they were confident or
very confident in providing it. There was a statistically significant
difference in the pre and post-test knowledge scores and the confidence scores.
Also, the RTs all felt competent or very competent to provide smoking cessation
at the bedside. Although there was no
statistically significant difference with attitude and current practices, there
were increases in percentages when comparing the two test scores.
Conclusion: In order to provide the therapist
with the best tools, in-services and continuing education should be developed
to increase the frequency of brief interventions at the bedside. The
development of treatment pathways and protocols would also make it easier for
the RT to start the smoking cessation education with the patient and refer them
to other smoking cessation services.