Helping patients with chronic diseases quit smoking by understanding their risk perception, behaviour, and smoking-related attitudes

Abstract

Continued smoking among patients with chronic diseases detrimentally affects their health and treatment outcomes. However, a majority of smokers with chronic diseases appear to have no intention to quit. Understanding the needs and concerns of this population is a crucial step in facilitating the design of an appropriate smoking cessation intervention. This study aimed to understand the risk perception, behaviours, attitudes, and experiences related to smoking and smoking cessation among patients with chronic diseases, including cardiovascular diseases, chronic respiratory diseases, and/or diabetes in Hong Kong. Individual semi-structured interviews with smokers with chronic diseases (n = 30) were conducted from May to July 2021. The methods and results are reported according to the COREQ. Four themes were generated: (1) perceptions of the association between chronic diseases and smoking/smoking cessation; (2) perceptions of the health/disease status; (3) quitting smoking is not the first priority; and (4) perceived barriers to quitting smoking. This study addressed a gap in the literature by gathering data concerning the perspectives of smokers with chronic diseases on smoking and smoking cessation. The deficit of knowledge among smokers with chronic diseases warrants the reinforcement of health education targeting this population. Our findings indicate the need for further efforts in designing appropriate smoking cessation interventions targeting smokers with chronic diseases, which will match the needs and concerns identified in this study.

Exploring the Rehabilitation Needs of Patients with Coronary Artery Diseases: An Effort to Design A Contextual Home-based Cardiac Rehabilitation through A Qualitative Enquiry

“…Similarly, research by Kalantzi et al (2023) identi ed social pressure and cultural norms as barriers to adopting healthy lifestyles among cardiac patients in South Asia, supporting the experiences of patients feeling isolated or pressured to conform to dietary norms despite their condition [24]. Furthermore, a study by Ho et al (2023) has highlighted smoking cessation challenges and the complexities of addressing patient beliefs and attitudes toward risk factors in cardiac rehabilitation programs, supporting the ndings regarding smoking cessation struggles and patient perceptions of disease causation [25].…”

Investigating Unhealthy Behaviors Associated with SF-36 Domains in Women with Endometriosis—Findings from a Web-Based Survey Data Set

“…The proportion of women who reported smoking tobacco was in line with the literature (21%). In chronic disease, the smoking proportion was documented as ranging from 15% to 26% [ 64 ]. More than half of the participants (59%) reported physical inactivity, and as reported in other studies, it seems that women with endometriosis engage in physical activity less than healthy women [ 65 ].…”