Smoking behaviour among nurses in Ontario: cross-sectional results from the Champlain Nurses' Study

Objective Nurses comprise the largest professional group within the Canadian health care workforce. We aimed to assess the prevalence and correlates of smoking among nurses. Methods The Champlain Nurses' Study was a multi-centre, observational study that evaluated the physical activity levels and health of hospital-based nurses. Participants completed a series of self-report questionnaires addressing a variety of health indicators including smoking status and smoking history. Multi-level modelling was used to examine variability in smoking status across hospital sites and to identify correlates of current smoking. Results A total of 406 nurses, from 14 urban and rural hospitals, were included in this analysis. On average, the nurses were 42.9 (standard deviation (SD), 11.9) years old, had a waist circumference of 78.7 (95% confidence interval (CI): 77.5, 80.2) cm and body mass index of 25.9 (95% CI: 25.3, 26.5) kg/m(2), worked in urban hospitals (81.3%), and had either a university bachelor's (46.9%) or college (39.6%) education. Most participants (92.0%) reported that they are not current smokers, 4.0% reported that they currently smoke occasionally, and 4.0% reported that they are current daily smokers. Smokers were more likely to be working in rural hospitals than urban hospitals (34.4% versus 17.4% respectively, p = 0.018), associated with having a higher waist circumference (mean difference = 4.5 (SD, 2.1), p = 0.035), a college but not university education (71.9% versus 36.9%, respectively, p < 0.001), lower scores for the Barriers Specific Self-Efficacy Scale (mean difference = - 9.7 (SD, 4.6), p = 0.038), and higher scores for the Profile of Mood States scale (mean difference = 2.0 (SD, 3.3), p = 0.007). The only correlate that remained statistically significant in the final, multivariate model was marital status; however, this analysis may be underpowered. Conclusions The prevalence of nurse smokers in our population is lower than previous estimates, and consistent with global declines in cigarette smoking. However, smoking was still prominent and associated with several other risk factors. Given the important relationship between smoking and health, and the critical role that nurses play in health care delivery, they should be an important focus for smoking cessation initiatives and other health education initiatives.