Factors affecting the decision to quit smoking of the participants of a hospital-based smoking cessation program in Greece.

INTRODUCTION: The purpose of this study was to investigate the factors that affect people who are in the process of quitting smoking. METHODS: A randomly selected sample of 110 participants in a smoking cessation program (SCP) of a hospital in Thessaloniki Greece. Instruments of data collection were: i) the Demographic Data Lifestyle Questionnaire and ii) the Fragerstrom Tolerance Questionnaire. ANOVA tests between the Demographic Data Lifestyle Questionnaire and the Fagerstrom Tolerance Questionnaire relating to the smokers' determination to quit smoking applied. RESULTS: Work satisfaction was related to whether the participants had difficulty to smoke in places that prohibited smoking and to how many cigarettes they smoked per day. If a non-smoker partner was urging the participant to quit smoking, it affected the hours of the day when the respondents smoked more cigarettes. Pressure from a non-smoking spouse was a deterrent from smoking many cigarettes during morning hours. Those participants who consumed alcohol smoked cigarettes containing higher levels of nicotine. CONCLUSION: Smoking cessation is a difficult process which is influenced by many factors such as educational level, work satisfaction and the presence of a partner.

In-hospital informal caregivers' needs as perceived by themselves and by the nursing staff in Northern Greece: A descriptive study.

BACKGROUND: Informal care is common in many countries, especially in Greece, where families provide care in hospitals. Health education and informational needs are important factors for family members which are often underestimated by nursing staff. The aim of this study was to compare the perceptions of the nurses and the in-hospital informal caregivers about the in-hospital informal caregivers' knowledge and informational needs, as well as the factors that influence these perceptions. METHODS: This was a non-experimental descriptive study conducted in three general hospitals in Greece. The sample consisted of 320 nurses and 370 in-hospital informal caregivers who completed questionnaires. Descriptive statistics were analyzed using t-tests; group comparisons were conducted using ANOVA. RESULTS: The score of the questionnaire for health education and informational needs was significantly greater for informal caregivers (57.1 ± 6.9 and 26.6 ± 2.8) than for nurses (53.4 ± 5.7 and 22.4 ± 3.1) (p < 0.001). For the nursing staff, the factors that influence the informational needs of patients' caregivers were level of education and working experience, while for the caregivers the level of education was independently associated with the score for the health education needs. Finally, age, marital status, and level of education of informal caregivers' were independently associated with informational needs. CONCLUSIONS: The in-hospital informal caregivers perceived that they have more educational and informational needs than the nurses did. The findings of this study also show that the nursing staff has to identify the needs of in-hospital informal caregivers in order to be able to meet these needs.

Nursing staff shortage and in-hospital informal care in an oncology hospital in Greece: the nursing staff's perceptions.

There is a broad variety of factors that are contributing to the nursing staff shortage. They include low wages, poor image of nursing, job satisfaction, ageing of the nursing workforce and cost reductions. In the Greek National Health System, there is a policy of open-visiting hours in hospitals. Family members stay with the patients for many hours and provide in-hospital informal care. The purpose of this study is to describe the perceptions of nursing staff about the nursing staff shortage and the in-hospital informal care in a Greek oncology hospital. For the data collection we used a 30-item questionnaire. The majority of the participants (82.9%) stated that most patients have a family member staying longer than the official visiting hours for assisting with care. A main reason according to the nurses' opinion (37.4%) is the nursing staff shortage. In addition, most nurses disagree with relatives providing some of the informal caregiving activities. The findings are consistent with the findings of other studies. They might be of interest to Greek health authorities, to nurses and to Greek citizens in order to implement possible solutions to improve the hospitalization in Greek hospitals.