Alajmi B, Abu-Hammad O, Al-Sharrad A, Dar-Odeh N. Tobacco cessation support among dentists: A cross-sectional survey in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.
Tob Prev Cessat 2017;
3:121. [PMID:
32432195 PMCID:
PMC7232810 DOI:
10.18332/tpc/75795]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/14/2017] [Revised: 07/01/2017] [Accepted: 07/10/2017] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION
This study aims to explore the smoking prevalence among a sample of dentists working in two Gulf countries, and to assess the association between smoking habit and socio-professional factors affecting their attitude towards tobacco cessation activities, including barriers that prevent them from practicing such activities.
METHODS
This was a cross-sectional, online questionnaire-based, survey among dentists from Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, during summer 2016. The questionnaire consisted of questions on socio-professional characteristics, tobacco use and attitudes towards the adoption of tobacco cessation programs in dental practices. The questionnaire also enquired about the barriers to adoption of tobacco cessation. Descriptive statistics were used to describe demographic and smoking characteristics while cross tabulation with chi-square test was used to find out statistical significance of association between the groups (P≤0.05).
RESULTS
A total number of 466 responses were included in statistical analysis with 286 males (61.4%) and 180 females (38.6%), age ranged from 23 to 79 years (mean=32.7± 9.32). Most of the sample (N=437, 93.8%) indicated that the dentist has a vital role in educating patients on the health hazards of smoking. A positive attitude toward adoption of tobacco cessation campaigns was associated with older, more experienced, medically compromised, non-smoker dentists. The most frequently cited barrier to tobacco cessation was lack of time (39.2%).
CONCLUSIONS
Dentists who smoke are less likely to adopt smoking cessation campaigns in their clinics. More experienced dentists and those older than 40 years are more likely to engage in smoking cessation activities.
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