Cigarette smoking among health care workers at King Hussein Medical Center

• Published in: Journal of hospital medicine 2008-05, Vol.3 (3), p.281-284
• Main Authors: El-Khushman, Haytham M., Sharara, Abdelmonem M., Al-Laham, Yousif M., Hijazi, Manaf A.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Age Factors; Female; health care workers; Humans; Jordan - epidemiology; Male; Personnel, Hospital - statistics & numerical data; Prevalence; Sex Factors; Smoking - epidemiology; smoking and prevalence; Smoking Cessation
• ISSN: 1553-5592; 1553-5606
• DOI: 10.1002/jhm.319

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 (±SD) for the whole sample was 35.3 ± 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 = .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: Our results showed a very high percentage of cigarette smoking among HCWs at KHMC. Smoking cessation programs should be introduced among Jordanian physicians. Journal of Hospital Medicine 2008;3:281–284. © 2008 Society of Hospital Medicine.