Factors associated with cessation of smoking in health professionals: a scoping review

BACKGROUND: Offering cessation support to health professionals who smoke to ensure optimal implementation of cessation support for patients is a key recommendation of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control Article 14 guidelines. However, direct efforts to support this population to quit are limited. Although numerous articles on the topic of tobacco use among health professionals have been published, the factors associated with their own cessation have not been systematically synthesised.

OBJECTIVE: We sought to synthesise existing literature on the predictors and processes informing attitudes and beliefs of smoking health professionals' own cessation.

METHODS: A five-step methodological framework for scoping reviews was followed. We conducted a systematic search of EMBASE, PubMed, Web of Science, and PsycINFO databases, as well as Google Scholar for relevant articles. Titles, abstracts, and full texts were screened against predefined criteria: research published between 1990 and 2021, in English-language peer-reviewed journals; participants included doctors, nurses, medical, and student nurses who smoke.

RESULTS: The initial search yielded 120, 883 articles, with 27 selected for synthesis. Prevalence estimates and predictors of smoking behaviour have remained the primary focus of smoking health professional research. Few studies explicitly examined the relevant predictors of quit attempts and quit attempt success. There is evidence that age and work environment factors predict quit attempt success in some health professional groups. There is also some evidence of tobacco smoking stigma experiences among nurses and nursing students who smoke.

CONCLUSION: Although cessation support is desperately needed for health professionals who smoke, the evidence for factors predicting quit success remains limited. To better guide future research, first, more theoretical work is required to identify the relevant predictors. Second, these should be tested using prospective research designs that take a multi-focal perspective to clarify the targets for change.