Cigarette smoking among health care workers at King Hussein Medical Center

Abstract

OBJECTIVE:The purpose of the study was to investigate the prevalence of smoking among health care workers (HCWs) at King Hussein Medical Center (KHMC), the biggest tertiary-care center in Jordan.METHODS: Data were collected using a self-reported questionnaire on cigarette smoking distributed among 760 HCWs. Questions were designed to collect various demographic parameters and different aspects related to cigarette smoking. RESULTS:Six hundred HCWs returned the completed questionnaire. Responders were divided into 3 groups; physicians, 260 (43%); nurses, 250 (42%); and other HCWs, 90 (13%). Mean age (AESD) for the whole sample was 35.3 AE 6.9 years.Men constituted 52%. The overall prevalence of smoking was 65%. Fifty-six percent of smokers smoked daily, with a mean consumption of 10 cigarettes per day.Smoking was more common among men (82%) than women (47%). The 31-to 40-year age group constituted nearly half the population studied; 58% of HCWs in this category were current smokers. In the physician group, the highest smoking rate was observed among family practitioners working in the emergency department (75%). Of the internists, 44% were current smokers. There was no statistical difference between the resident and specialist subgroups in this category (P 5 .45). All pulmonologists were nonsmokers, the second-lowest smoking rate was seen in the dermatologist subgroup (10%). The women in the nursing group had a smoking rate of 17% compared with the 49% of the men in the nursing group who smoked. In the other HCW group, 70% smoked cigarettes. CONCLUSIONS:

Smoking prevalence, knowledge and attitudes among primary healthcare professionals: a study from Jordan

“…Smoking habit was significantly higher among men than women. These findings are consistent with other studies on healthcare professionals and the general population in Jordan (7,15,16). These results were expected as the reported smoking prevalence rate in developing countries was also higher in men than women, and because smoking among women is not generally accepted culturally by the Jordanian population (18).…”

“…This was lower than the prevalence rate of smoking (65%) among healthcare workers at the biggest tertiary hospital in Jordan (15), and lower than the prevalence rate of smoking (38.8%) among healthcare professionals working at other hospitals (16). This suggests that healthcare professionals at primary healthcare centres may hold a more positive attitude toward smoking habits compared to those working at hospitals.…”

“…This may have led to misunderstanding of some questions, although the investigators encouraged the respondents to ask for any clarification. Another limitation was that we compared smoking rates with those reported from hospitals in 2008 and 2011 (15,16). Since that time, it is unknown whether smoking rates have changed at hospitals.…”

“…In Jordan, a high prevalence of smoking (65%) has been reported among healthcare workers at King Hussein Medical Center (KHMC); the principal tertiary hospital in the country (15). Another study has reported a lower prevalence of smoking (38.8%) among Jordanian healthcare professionals working at hospitals other than KHMC (16).…”

Becoming an Exhausted Smoker: the Beginning of the End

“…Despite this fact, the prevalence of smoking among male Jordanian nurses is still surprisingly the highest in comparison with other nurses around the world. The smoking rate among Jordanian male nurses was three times higher than the smoking rate among female nurses --49% and 17% respectively 2 . Another study conducted by Shishani, Nawafleh, and Froelicher 3 showed that the smoking rate among general Jordanian nurses was 41.5% and significantly more male nurses smoked more than female nurses.…”