Source
EdM, is a Senior Public Administrative Analyst at the Institute for Health Policy Studies at the University of California, San Francisco. Her areas of interest are addressing nicotine dependence in substance abuse treatment programs, treatment effectiveness, and the adoption of new treatments into practice. Ph.D., MPH, is Professor of Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco. His research is in the area of access, delivery, and organization of substance abuse treatment services, treatment effectiveness, and adoption of new treatments into practice settings. He is currently testing strategies designed to support drug abuse treatment programs in better addressing nicotine dependence. Ph.D., is Professor of Biostatistics in Psychiatry at the University of California, San Francisco. His primary field of research is the application of statistical methods to studies of drug and alcohol abuse. BA, is a Research Associate at the Institute for Health Policy Studies at the University of California, San Francisco. MS, is a Programmer Analyst at the Institute for Health Policy Studies at the University of California, San Francisco. Ph.D., is Director of Substance Abuse Treatment Services at VA Northern California Health Care System, as well as Clinical Manager for the VA Oakland Mental Health and Substance Abuse Clinic.
Abstract
This study examined smoking-related knowledge, beliefs, self-efficacy, smoking cessation practices, and barriers to providing smoking cessation services in a workforce sample. The 11 participating clinics (N=335 staff) included substance abuse treatment and HIV care clinics categorized into three types: Veterans Affairs Medical Center (VAMC) clinics, hospital-based clinics, and community-based clinics. Staff in both VAMC and hospital-based settings shared characteristics that may predict smoking-related knowledge, beliefs, and practices (higher education level, low smoking rates, fewer staff in recovery, and location in hospital-affiliated environments where there was greater emphasis on physical health). However, staff in VAMC settings outperformed those in both hospital-based and community-based clinic settings on measures of smoking-related knowledge, beliefs, self-efficacy, and practices. Well-developed procedures to support VAMC clinicians in addressing smoking may account for these findings. Findings suggest that both reductions in staff smoking, and development and implementation of smoking policy are needed to support staff in better addressing nicotine dependence in community-based treatment settings.