Hospital Patients' Smoking Behaviors and Perceptions of Smoking Policies in Pusan.

부산지역 종합병원환자의 흡연실태 및 원내 흡연정책에 관한 인식도 조사

The purposes of this study were to identify patients' perceptions toward regulations of smoking in general hospitals and hazards caused by smoking. Moreover this study also identified smoking behaviors and punishment experience due to in-hospital smoking and education experiences of smoking in general hospitals. Around 88.0％ of all respondents regardless of either smokers or non-smokers knew that hospitals are non-smoking area. However, 71.6％ of smokers smoked during their hospital visits. For their smoking, only 51.0％ of smokers utilized smoking rooms or areas for their smoking. Only 55.1％ of smokers experienced punishments or notifications of warning due to their smoking. Around 93.0％ of inpatients and outpatients acknowledged hazards toward their health caused by smoking. However, smokers did not realize the dangerous effects of passive smoking to other persons. Only 38.1％ of smokers said that passive smoking causes hazard of others' health. 63.8％ of smokers hoped for secession of smoking but only 42.8％ of them sustained their non-smoking periods over 5 moths. Based on these results, this study insists that a more enforced smoking policy in general hospitals be desperately needed for protecting patients' health and controlling smoking at unapproved areas. Moreover hospitals should take proactive actions to prevent smoking in hospitals. A health education program in hospitals should promote patients' self-efficacy to stop smoking and patients' understanding of the hazardous effects of passive smoking in hospitals.