Back to Annual Meeting Page		American Public Health Association 133rd Annual Meeting & Exposition December 10-14, 2005 Philadelphia, PA

Abstract #120670

Nathan R. Jones, PhD¹, CW Warren, PhD², Samira Asma, DDS³, and Lela McKnight, PhD². (1) Office on Smoking and Health/Global Tobacco Control Program, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 4770 Buford Hwy NE MS-K50, Atlanta, GA 30341, (2) Office on Smoking and Health / Global Tobacco Control Program, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 4770 Buford Hwy NE, MS-K50, Atlanta, GA 30341, 770-488-8124, dvn1@cdc.gov, (3) Office on Smoking and Health, CDC, 4770 Buford Highway, NE, Mailstop K-50, Atlanta, GA 30341

Background: Health professionals have a critical role in reducing tobacco use; even brief and simple advice from health professionals can increase smoking cessation rates. The World Health Organization (WHO), CDC, and the Canadian Public Health Association (CPHA) developed the Global Health Professionals Survey (GHPS) to collect data about tobacco use and cessation counseling among health-profession students in all WHO member states.

Methods: This report presents findings from the GHPS Pilot Study, which consisted of 16 surveys in 10 countries among third-year students in four health-profession disciplines (dentistry, medicine, nursing, and pharmacy) during the first quarter of 2005. The GHPS surveyed students from Albania, Argentina (Buenos Aires), Bangladesh, Croatia, Egypt, Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Philippines, the Republic of Serbia, and Uganda.

Results: Findings indicated that the current cigarette smoking rate among third-year health-profession students was higher than 20% in 7 of the 10 countries surveyed. Nevertheless, 87%–99% of third-year students in the countries surveyed believed they should have a role in counseling patients to quit smoking, but only 5%–37% of students had received formal training in how to conduct such counseling.

Discussion: The goal of WHO, CDC, and CPHA is to gather data from all four disciplines in as many of the 192 WHO Member States as resources will allow by the end of academic year 2008. Schools for health professionals, public health organizations, and education officials should work together to design and implement training in smoking cessation counseling for all health-profession students.

Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the session, the participant (learner) in this session will be able to

• Identify important aspects of international survey work.
• Articulate health profession students' perceived and desired roles in tobacco control.
• Recognize the gap in training on cessation training health profession students report in some countries.

Keywords: Tobacco, International Systems

Related Web page: www.cdc.gov/tobacco/global

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

I wish to disclose that I have NO financial interests or other relationship with the manufactures of commercial products, suppliers of commercial services or commercial supporters.