Prevalence of Tobacco Smoking among Nursing Students: a Systematic Review

Abstract

This study was conducted by systematic review and its objective was to survey the prevalence of tobacco smoking among undergraduate nursing students in the recent ten years (2007-2017). Publications were selected in accordance with the criteria of PICOS for evaluating the quality of the research and analyzing its content. The databases of CINAHL, PubMed, Scopus, Cochrane and ScienceDirect were searched for literature containing the keywords of “Tobacco”, “Smoking” and “nursing student”. Among the total of 833 publications, a final ten literature as selected according to the inclusion criteria. A study design was a cross-sectional study. Estimated prevalence of tobacco smoking among undergraduate nursing students ranged from 1.7% to 31.8%. The highest prevalence of tobacco smoking among nursing students was found in Australia (23.5%) and Mediterranean countries such as Greece (31.8%), Portugal (25.2%), Spain (26.1%-28.8%), Turkey (12.3%-19.5%), and Saudi Arabia (16%); and the lowest prevalence was reported in developing countries, such as Thailand (1.7%) and Lao PDR (6.1%). Evidence of prevalence and distribution varies widely depending on the study area. According to this study, we recommended that the campaigns of anti-tobacco smoking should be establish in nursing schools. Providing education on dangers of tobacco use and module training on stopping tobacco use should be implemented continuously and further strengthened.