Patients’ Expectation, Physicians’ Knowledge And Attitudes On Smoking Cessation:a Survey In A Beijing Hospital

Background:As the world’s largest producer and consumer of tobacco, China is homing350million current smokers in2002. Studies have shown that admission to hospital is a teachable moment (TM) of smoking cessation and an opportunity to quit for smoking patients. On the other side, physicians’ attitude and knowledge towards smoking cessation influence their willingness, methods and intensity of providing smoking cessation service. Studies about smoking cessation in Chinese smoking patients were published in recent years but few of them focus on patients’ expectation and physicians’ knowledge and attitude on smoking cessation support.Method:After the designing of a23item questionnaire for patients and an8item questionnaire for medical staff,414patients (including112smoking patients,68ex-smoking patients and234non-smoking patients) and98doctors were recruited in a university affiliated tertiary hospital in Beijing to answer the questionnaire. Questions in patients’ questionnaire focus on their smoking status, quitting attempts, smoking cessation support ever received, and expectations of quitting support from physicians. Questions in medical staffs’ questionnaire focus on their attitude, knowledge and practice of providing cessation support for smoking patients.Result:86%smokers were willing to quit.98.2%smoking patients and98.5%ex-smoker patients had never received cessations support from doctors.78%smokers and87%ex-smokers do not expect cessation support from doctors.84.7%doctors thought the hospital they were working in should establish and provide cessation service for smoking patients.85%and82%doctors always asked and documented patients’ smoking status at each patient visit.67%doctors always urged smoking patients to quit. Less than20%doctors assisted patients in quitting and less than5%doctors arranged follow-up for smoking cessation, though majority of them (61%) knew medication intervention for nicotine addiction. More than80%patients and doctors believed that asking about tobacco use and advising to quit would not irritate patients.Conclusion:The survey focused on patients’ expectation and doctors’ knowledge and attitude on smoking cessation and showed that patients have strong willingness to quit, and doctors show positive attitude to provide cessation service. However, patient’ low expectation to cessation support and doctor’s poor knowledge and practice to provide intensive cessation intervention may be the main obstacles of smoking cessation of patients in China.