ORCID Identifier(s)

0000-0003-1339-059X

Graduation Semester and Year

2016

Language

English

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy in Nursing

Department

Nursing

First Advisor

Donelle M Barnes

Abstract

Background: Over five million people die annually from smoking related illnesses. As more people consider quitting smoking in industrialized nations, the rate of smoking has been rising in African countries, also referred to as low and middle-income countries. The projected population growth in Africa has led tobacco manufacturers to strategically target African teenagers who do not clearly understand the adverse effects of smoking cigarettes. In developed countries such as the United States, public education about the dangers of smoking and the availability of structured smoking cessation programs have been influential in helping smokers quit. Unfortunately in most developing countries in Africa, such as Cameroon, such programs do not exist. In countries that have similar programs, for example in Nigeria, they are ineffective. In order to develop and implement an effective smoking cessation program, it is important to understand the way smokers within the targeted population perceive smoking. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to describe smoking perceptions among adult Cameroonian men who smoke cigarettes, and to determine if there was a relationship between the demographic variables of age, education level, years of smoking, and number of quit attempts, and the four subscales in the Smoking Consequences Questionnaire (S-SCQ). Design: A descriptive/correlational design was used for this study. A convenience sample of 200 cognitively intact adult Cameroonian men who smoke cigarettes answered a demographic questionnaire and the S-SCQ. The S-SCQ is a 21-item instrument that was designed to measure smoking perceptions. Because data collection was done in a university city, 50% of subjects were university affiliated (mostly college students and graduates) and the other half had no university affiliation. Theoretical Model: The Health Promotion Model was used to guide this study. Concepts in the model were operationalized with subscales in the S-SCQ. Using Spearman’s correlation coefficients, relationships between the demographic variables of age, number of quit attempts, education level, and age of smoking onset, and subscales in the SCQ were examined. The University of Texas Arlington Institutional Review Board approved the study. Findings: Results showed a statistically significant correlation between age and negative reinforcement (rs = 0.140, p = 0.048), age and appetite/weight control (rs = 0.163, p = 0.021), and number of quit attempts and appetite/weight control (rs = 0.180, p = 0.032). In other words, older participants appeared to have stronger perceptions about the barriers to smoking cessation. No significant correlation was found between educational level and perceived barriers or perceived benefits to smoking cessation. Paradoxically, although 71% of the sample (n=200) had attempted to quit smoking about five times, those with higher quit attempts had stronger (favorable) perceptions of smoking cigarettes for appetite or weight control. These findings suggest that early smoking cessation interventions and education about the risks of smoking cigarettes may be effective to curb the rate of smoking among adult Cameroonian men and to prevent smoking initiation.

Keywords

Perceptions, Africa, Smoking, Correlations, Prevention

Disciplines

Medicine and Health Sciences | Nursing

Comments

Degree granted by The University of Texas at Arlington

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