Characteristics of patients adhering to a hospital's no-smoking policy

Objectives. The purpose of this paper is to examine the characteristics of smokers who adhere to a hospital smoking ban, compared to those who do not. Design. The data presented in this paper are baseline and discharge survey data collected among hospitalized smokers. Setting. This study was conducted in two teaching hospitals in a northeastern city. Patients/participants. The subjects were 358 smokers who participated in a larger smoking intervention trial. Main results. Seventy-six percent of the subjects reported adhering to the smoke-free policy during their hospital stay. In a multivariate model, demographic factors that predicted adherence included being older, having shorter length of stay, not reporting recreational drug use in the previous 12 months, and not having alcohol- related problems. Smoking history variables that predicted adherence included having had at least 24 h of abstinence in the 7 days prior to hospitalization; self-efficacy variables (e.g., confidence in ability to quit smoking in 1 month and less anticipated difficulty refraining from smoking during hospitalization) also predicted adherence. Conclusions. Understanding the factors that predict adherence to health care policies can provide useful information for health promotion interventions in a medical setting. The implications of these findings are discussed.