Smoking Cessation/Prevention in the Air Force: How Adequate
Abstract
It is widely held that tobacco is a cause of cancer and other debilitating illnesses. Public policy restricting sales and uses of the product everywhere, even in tobacco growing regions of the country, underscores the seriousness of this belief. Recently, one of the major tobacco companies has come forth and admitted that tobacco is a health hazard. The purpose of this study is to determine if healthcare providers in the military adequately address tobacco related ailments and smoking cessation programs with their clients. This study focused on what happens at the primary point of contact between military healthcare providers and clients. A retrospective chart review of a random sample of charts and client interview was employed to compare providers documented practice protocols with established guidelines set by the Department of Defense (DoD) for implementation of smoking cessation programs in the military. The study was conducted to determine how well military providers met the guidelines. An Intervention Plan Documentation checklist constructed by the researcher, and evaluated by a panel of two experts for content validity in smoking cessation practices was utilized. A pilot study was done to determine intercoder reliability. Descriptive statistics were utilized to determine whether health care providers in the military organization were promoting a tobacco free lifestyle and preventing smoking related health problems as evidenced by the documentation in client charts. Findings showed that military providers were having dialogue with their clients about smoking cessation. However, documentation of this intervention was not always complete.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 1998
- Accession Number
- AD1012073
Entities
People
- Cheryl A. Udensi
Organizations
- Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences