Beliefs about health, smoking, and future smoking cessation among South Korean men hospitalized for cardiovascular disease

Sohn, Min; Stotts, Nancy A.; Benowitz, Neal; Christopherson, Dianne; Kim, Kyung Soo; Jang, Yang Soo; Sook Ahn, Mi; Froelicher, Erika Sivarajan

doi:10.1016/j.hrtlng.2006.11.001

« Previous Next »Heart & Lung: The Journal of Acute and Critical Care
Volume 36, Issue 5 , Pages 339-347, September 2007

Beliefs about health, smoking, and future smoking cessation among South Korean men hospitalized for cardiovascular disease

Min Sohn, RN, MPH, PhD
- Department of Physiological Nursing, School of Nursing, University of California, San Francisco, California
- Reprint requests: Min Sohn, RN, MPH, PhD, Department of Physiological Nursing, N631, School of Nursing, University of California, San Francisco, 2 Koret Way, San Francisco, CA 94143-0610.
Nancy A. Stotts, RN, EdD
- Department of Physiological Nursing, School of Nursing, University of California, San Francisco, California
Neal Benowitz, MD
- Departments of Medicine, Psychiatry, and Biopharmaceutical Sciences, University of California, San Francisco, California
- Division of Clinical Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, Medical Service, San Francisco General Hospital Medical Center, San Francisco, California
Dianne Christopherson, RN, PhD
- Department of Physiological Nursing, School of Nursing, University of California, San Francisco, California
Kyung Soo Kim, MD, PhD
- Department of Cardiology, Hanyang Medical Center, Hanyang University, Seoul, South Korea
Yang Soo Jang, MD, PhD
- Department of Cardiology, Yonsei Medical Center, Yonsei University, Seoul, South Korea
Mi Sook Ahn, RN
- Department of Cardiology, Yonsei Medical Center, Yonsei University, Seoul, South Korea
Erika Sivarajan Froelicher, RN, MPH, PhD
- Department of Physiological Nursing, School of Nursing, University of California, San Francisco, California
- Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, California.

Background

A particularly high rate of smoking among South Korean men corresponds to high rates of cardiovascular disease.

Objectives

This study evaluated South Korean men hospitalized with cardiovascular disease to explore beliefs about the health benefits of smoking cessation, to determine smoking cessation intentions, and to identify factors associated with confidence in quitting smoking.

Methods

This was a cross-sectional, descriptive study.

Results

Of the study’s 97 participants, only 78% believed that smoking cessation avoids or decreases the chance of developing heart disease; 93% reported their intention to quit; 74% had moderate to high confidence about quitting within the month after hospital discharge; and 88% preferred to quit by themselves without help. Significant predictors of low confidence in quitting were being married (odds ratio: 5.54, 95% confidence interval: 1.33–23.08); being alcohol dependent (odds ratio: 3.25, confidence interval: 1.20–8.80); and starting to smoke at or before 20 years of age (odds ratio: 2.96, confidence interval: 1.14–7.68).

Conclusion

The study’s participants were motivated to quit smoking for their health, but they must be educated to understand that smoking is addictive and that special intervention is needed.