Background One of the most effective smoking cessation strategies involves care and advice from nurses due to their role in the front line of treatment. Lack of education on smoking cessation counselling may be detrimental, and adequate smoking cessation training during healthcare studies is needed. Objectives The study aimed to examine nurses’ attitudes, belief, and knowledge of smoking cessation counselling; knowledge of the health risks associated with smoking was also assessed. Design A cross-sectional survey on 77 nurses from the nursing staff of Cardiology, Cardiac Intensive Care and Surgical Oncology Units of two tertiary hospitals. Methods Cronbach’s alpha was calculated to assess the questionnaire’s internal consistency, and three composite indicators were computed to assess the three dimensions of the questionnaire (knowledge, attitude, belief). Furthermore, a stepwise linear regression model was used to predict the attitude to be engaged in smoking cessation counselling, related to demographic and behavioural variables, as well as knowledge and belief indicators. The analysis was stratified by Unit. Results Nurses from three Units had a significantly different attitude score (2.55 ± 0.93 for Cardiology, 2.49 ± 0.72 for Cardiac Intensive Care and 2.09 ± 0.59 for Surgical Oncology Unit) (P-value = 0.0493). Analogously, knowledge of smoking cessation counselling was reported to be higher for Cardiac Intensive Care Unit nurses (3.19 ± 0.70) compared to Surgical Oncology nurses (2.73 ± 0.74) (P-value = 0.021). At the multivariable analysis, attitude towards smoking cessation counselling was significantly related to the nurse’s belief about counselling, for Cardiology staff (coeff = 0.74, 95% CI [0.32–1.16], P-value = 0.002) and for Surgical Oncology staff (coeff = 0.37, 95% CI [0.01–0.72], P-value = 0.042). Conclusions Incorporation of smoking cessation interventions in nurses’ and nursing managers’ education could improve the nursing staff’s attitude, belief, and knowledge regarding smoking cessation counselling, which would lead to the inclusion of tobacco prevention and cessation as an integral part of patient care.

Abstract. Background/Aim: Anemia in patients suffering from end-stage renal failure is currently treated with Erythropoiesis-Stimulating Agents (ESA). This treatment needs sufficient iron supplementation to avoid anPatients suffering from End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) represent a major health care problem with a significant cost, should they undergo hemodialysis treatment. Patients lose up to 5-7 mg of iron during each dialysis treatment and this is a primary cause of their iron-deficiency anemia (1, 2). There is also an increased need for iron supplementation to maintain Hb levels within the optimal range and maximize the response to ESA (3). As oral iron supplementation is often ineffective due to both patient non-compliance and gastrointestinal adverse effects, most dialysis patients receive IV iron to fill sufficient iron stores (4, 5). However, iron excess is stored in the liver causing organ toxicity and inflammation as well as an increased risk of infections (6, 7).ESRD patients generally need to be given ESA and IV iron together to achieve the optimal Hb concentrations (4). The majority of patients on hemodialysis receive an IV/subcutaneous ESA dose during each dialysis section (8). Values of transferrin saturation <20% and serum ferritin <100 ng/ml require iron supplementation. (9). There are not specific protocols for IV iron supplementation. Previous clinical studies have suggested the administration of iron saccharate at a total dose of 1g/14 days (two administrations of 500 mg or five of 200 mg) (10) or iron gluconate at a total 709