Introduction
Nurses involvement in smoking cessation programs helps increase the success rate for these programs
Smoking in Veterans is a major health issue with up to 28.2%of veterans being active smokers a figure that is significantly higher than the smoking rates within the general population
For Veterans, the smoking cessation programs need be tailored to the age, health history and mental status
The Health People 2020 regards tobacco use as a leading health indicator and with prolonged use it is regarded as a maker for lung cancer or other chronic illnesses
Smoking rates have been constant even at tike when smoking cessation techniques and programs have significantly advanced
Discussion
The training and education of nurses on smoking cessation programs and interventions can help reduce the rates of smoking or improve the success rate of current interventions
The Tobacco Tactics educational educational-module is a training program that helps instill skill and knowledge in nurses to manage smoking cessation interventions
Outpatient smoking cessation programs should be a key element in care facilities as this has been lacking
Nurses’ perceptions and attitudes on smoking cessation do play a critical role in the success of these programs
Education and training of nurses instills confidence as well as self-actualization and nurse tend to become more aware of their role in smoking cessation programs
Critique
Inpatient smoking cessation programs have not been optimized and the expected success rates have rarely been met
The lack of involvement of the nurse in these programs is a major factor as to the underutilization and lack of optimal outcomes
The Health People 2020 objective for this paper is to help augment the available measures to achieve better results and better outcomes
The material and knowledge empowerment for nurses is a sure strategy towards reaching this objective
There is a need to emphasize on holistic management of patients so that nurse scan detect cases of smoking early enough and enhance quitting before addiction
Conclusion
Empowerment of nurses is crucial in meeting the identified Health People 2020 objective
High risk groups such as the elderly and the Veterans have to be placed under the constant monitoring of nurses with adequate knowledge and skill in smoking cessation
Nurses have to focus on improving self-efficacy and self-care for these patients as well as instilling behavioral modification and personal responsibility on their health
I. Introduction
Nurses’ involvement in smoking cessation programs has been regarded as a major strategy towards increasing the success rate of the smoking cessation programs. For Veterans, a group regarded as having the greatest figures of smoking individuals, smoking cessation programs have to be tailored and specific to their age, health history and their mental status. The integration of the nurse in such programs is justified by the idea that nurses are caregivers who can ably combine care giving, mentoring and role modeling all that are essential in the smoking cessation programs.
The Health People 2020 regards tobacco use as one of the Leading Health Indicators. The impact of tobacco use on the quality of life has over time been labeled as significant in terms of mortality and morbidity. Tobacco use predisposes the individual to illnesses and when used for prolonged durations, it could act as a trigger for chronic illnesses such as lung cancer. In fact, tobacco use has in most cases been labeled as a marker for lung cancer as well as other respiratory complications. The incidences of lung cancer as well as respiratory illnesses among the veterans have been recorded as significantly being higher (28.2%) than those recorded within the general population (20.9%) (Healthy People 2020, 2015). This in effect has translated to higher incidences of lung cancer and respiratory complications while there have been no specific interventions to manage these incidences for this population at risk. The Health People 2020 considers that while smoking cessation programs have been working effectively to minimize the number of smokers and the rates of smoking across the population, there has been little effort to augment the available programs. At a time when the rates of smoking have been on a constant, there is a need to develop measures that can complement the available programs in order to increase the success rates of smoking cessation by adult smokers (Healthy People 2020, 2015).
II. Discussion
Fore et al. (2014) in their article discuss role of the nurse in the smoking cessation programs for veterans. The researchers are of the view that while Tobacco Tactics educational educational-module has been effective the success rates have been just within a constant rate where there has been little or no significant improvements. The research was based on determining the importance of integration of the nurses in inpatient smoking cessation programs with a view to establishing the barriers that may diminish their impact in those programs. The focus of the research was on the veterans in a Veteran Affairs Medical Center in which the Tobacco Tactics educational module was being implemented for training of nurses.
The researchers noted that nurses played a key role in the smoking cessation programs for veterans despite the fact that these programs are rarely applied due to lack of training and time as well as lacking confidence by the nurses on implementation of these interventions. In this regard, the program sough to improve the knowledge and skills of the nurses in handling these smokers and helping them in the smoking cessation period to avoid cases of relapse as well as help in the management of withdrawal symptoms. In-patient smoking cessation programs for veterans target to include nurses as the care givers and role models as well as educators as opposed to the mainstream programs where the role of the nurse in these interventions is significantly minimized (Fore et al., 2014).
Nurses’ perceptions play a key role in the implementation of such smoking cessation programs and in the event that nurses may feel that they are poorly prepared to handle these interventions or manage these patients, then there is a likelihood that the patients will not receive the optimal care that the nurse is expected to offer (Porter, 2013). The pre and post-education responses from the nurses indicated that there are significant differences especially in respect to the self-reporting of nurses on the delivery of smoking cessation interventions. The tactics training on the other hand was associated with increased confidence of the nurse and it is this confidence that translated to appreciation of the interventions. In post-training, nurses reported that they are well aware of their role and were much more willing to actualize self-reporting.
III. Critique
In-patient smoking cessation interventions are usually associated with success; however, the recent in-patient trend has minimized the role of the nurse and this has meant that even for these patients, the associated success is limited. However, when nurses are included and trained regularly on the same, they can impact positively on the rate of success of smoking cessation. The major advantage of the smoking cessation within in-patient units is that the patients do associate with colleagues and can actually help and encourage one another in the quit process. The nurse shave to take advantage of these aspects but this begins with empowering the nurses materially and more importantly, knowledge wise and tactically.
This initiative appreciates that while smoking cessation programs have significantly helped in minimizing the rate of smoking especially among the high risk groups, there is a major concern in regard to the optimization of the available resources. There is a concern that the available resources can do more to help reduce the smoking rates in these high risk groups such as the veterans. However, this has not been achieved due to some existing barriers such as lack of training for nurses as well as lack of confidence by the nurses in implementing smoking cessation programs. The Health People 2020 objective for this paper has its basis on helping augment the available measures to achieve better results and better outcomes. There is a need to empower nurses and train them on the specifics of managing the high risk groups where smoking is dominant (Healthy People 2020, 2015). The generalization of the role of the nurse in smoking cessation interventions has meant that nurses do not feel adequately prepared to manage the issue due to the social and psychological issues tied to the health perspective. The training of nurses can be extended to other inpatient care settings and even so in outpatient care units as well as public health programs. Within the outpatient units, nurses should be encouraged to observe the need for holistic assessment of the patient such that the cases of smoking can be recorded and afforded a follow-up. However, when nurses have limited skill and confidence on smoking cessation, they are less likely to avoid the assessment of lifestyle behaviors as this would apparently complicate the entire care plan (Porter, 2013).
IV. Conclusion
The training of nurses for smoking cessation implementation provides a primary intervention in which nurse scan play a key role. Smoking is regarded as a maker for lung cancer as well as other related illnesses. In this regard, the early identification and management of smoking cases can help avert the progression of the potential illnesses to severity (Porter, 2013). The early management of smoking cases particularly for the high risk groups such as the elderly who are highly vulnerable to illnesses can increasingly assure of higher quality of life and wellness. At a time when the rate of tobacco use among younger adults has been increasing and gaining ground, nurses need to be equipped and trained on reaching these interventions to these groups and gradually tailoring them to reach specific group based on their needs and preferences. The training of nurses is not confined to the pharmacotherapeutics interventions; rather it extends to the aspects of patient education as well as behavior modification (Porter, 2013). In this case therefore, nurses have to develop work cultures and institutional policies that facilitate and actualize holistic assessment of behaviors and lifestyles at clinical level and community level. There is a need to see the patient as a functional entity whereby the role of the nurse is to facilitate behavioral modification as well as increase the level of personal responsibility first by teaching, then role modeling and then brining in the concept of care giving (Fore et al., 2014).
References
Fore, A. M., Karvonen-Gutierrez, C. A., Talsma, A., & Duffy, S. A. (2014). Nurses' delivery of the Tobacco Tactics intervention at a Veterans Affairs Medical Center. J Clin Nurs, 23(15-16), 2162-2169. doi:10.1111/jocn.12460
Healthy People 2020. (2015). Tobacco Use | Healthy People 2020. Retrieved from https://www.healthypeople.gov/2020/topics-objectives/topic/tobacco-use/objectives
Porter, A. (2013). The role of the advanced practice nurse in promoting smoking cessation in the adult population. Medsurg Nursing, 22(4), 264.
