An Assessment of Smoking Behavior among Workers in A Public Hospital in Bangkok Metropolitan

Abstract

This descriptive study was to assess smoking behavior of workers for a public hospital in
Bangkok metropolitan according to Stage of Change Theory and Self-Efficacy Theory. The data
were collected by questionnaire in 33 workers about smoking behavior, level of nicotine
dependence, stage of behavior change and their self efficacies for quitting smoking. Data were
analyzed using descriptive statistics and reported using frequencies tabulation.
The study showed that all samples were daily smokers who smoked averagely 8.82
cigarettes/day, 18.76 years of the mean age of first smoking, 38 years of the mean duration of
smoking, and 94 percent also drink alcohol/beer. Most of them smoked after meal (81.8 percent)
with the reasons of stress (42.4 percent). Fagerstrom Test for Nicotine Dependence (FTND) found
that 39.4% of smokers were in low level of nicotine dependence, 30.3% of moderate level and
15.2% of low level. For stage of change, 66.6% were in contemplation stage and 18.% were in
precontemplation stage. All level of nicotine dependence were mostly in contemplation stage
around 60-80%. Self-efficacy perception was in low level, 63.7% and moderate level, 27.3%.
Mostly smokers who were in precontemplation and contemplation stage and they had low selfefficacy perception and high outcome expectation of 66.7%. All smokers who had low, moderate
and high self-efficacy perception, had high outcome expectation more than 60%. Therefore, quit
smoking activities should assess stage of behavioral change and raise up higher self-efficacy.