Date of Paper/Work
12-2015
Type of Paper/Work
Doctor of Nursing Practice Project
Degree Name
Doctor of Nursing Practice
Department
Nursing
First Advisor
Alice Swan
Department/School
Doctor of Nursing Practice
Abstract
Objectives: The aim of this project was to determine if strategies designed to increase self-efficacy would improve smoking cessation rates in an adult outpatient population when compared to traditional smoking cessation practices.
Background: There are many challenges when individuals try to quit. Inability to quit and relapse are common. Identifying the most effective strategies to address both the physical and behavioral aspects of nicotine dependence is necessary to support smoking abstinence. In the literature, a causal relationship exists between high levels of self-efficacy and improved smoking cessation rates.
Methods: A feasibility study, using a pre- post-test design was used to explore whether strategies designed to increase self-efficacy increased the ability of individuals to quit smoking. The researcher designed strategies to increase self-efficacy modeled after two theoretical frameworks: Albert Bandura’s Social Cognitive Theory and James Prochaska’s Transtheoretical Model of Change. Ten patients enrolled in this study. There was no random assignment and participants did not have the same chance of being in the control or experimental group. The first five patients received standard treatment and the next five patients received enhanced self-efficacy treatment. The goal was to identify increased quit rates in the five patients receiving the treatment.
Results: Participants did not complete scheduled follow-up appointments so data obtained from the initial assessment could not be compared with subsequent assessments.
Conclusions: Individuals quitting tobacco have many challenges and are best addressed by the combination of medication and behavioral modification to support smoking cessation. An improvement in smoking cessation outcomes may be influenced by the addition of methods designed to increase a person’s level of self-efficacy or belief they can truly quit smoking. Creating more rigorous measures for patient accountability and follow-up are suggested to encourage patient compliance in future studies.
Recommended Citation
Gmitro Prieto, Karen Mary. (2015). Self-Efficacy: The Key to Smoking Abstinence?. Retrieved from Sophia, the St. Catherine University repository website: https://sophia.stkate.edu/dnp_projects/69