1. Employee attitudes about moving toward a smoke-free campus at a Veterans Affairs hospital.
- Author
-
Duffy SA, Ewing LA, Welsh DE, Flanagan PS, Waltje AH, Breedveld SB, and Young EW
- Subjects
- Adult, Aged, Child, Cross-Sectional Studies, Data Collection, Female, Hospitals, Veterans organization & administration, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Multivariate Analysis, Occupational Health, Organizational Innovation, Qualitative Research, Smoking epidemiology, Smoking psychology, United States, United States Department of Veterans Affairs, Attitude of Health Personnel, Hospitals, Veterans legislation & jurisprudence, Organizational Policy, Smoke-Free Policy legislation & jurisprudence, Smoking Prevention
- Abstract
Background: Although Veterans Affairs (VA) hospitals have been smoke-free inside of buildings since 1991, smoke-free campuses have not been initiated. The purpose of this article is to describe staff attitudes regarding making the VA hospital a smoke-free campus except for the mandated smoking shelters., Methods: In 2008, a cross-sectional, anonymous survey was conducted with a convenience sample of employees at a Midwestern VA (N = 397)., Results: Descriptive statistics showed that the vast number of employees were in support of a smoke-free campus (76%), relocating the smoking shelters (62%), and offering employees assistance to quit smoking (71%). Multivariate analyses showed that those who were nonsmokers, older, women, and higher educated were the greatest supporters of policies to support a smoke-free environment (p < .05). Write-in comments were generally favorable but also revealed employee resistance related to freedom, personal choice, and potential loss in productivity as smokers go further away from the building to smoke., Conclusions: VA hospitals have unique challenges in implementing smoke-free campus policies.
- Published
- 2013
- Full Text
- View/download PDF