NURSE TARGETED STUDIES Maori Nurses and Smoking: Conflicted Identities and Motivations for Smoking Cessation

This two part study sought to design and test a smoking cessation intervention aimed at reducing smoking and relapse amongst Maori nurses who smoke. 410 responses were received from a survey sent to Maori RNs, student nurses, and community health workers in the NZNO database who were both smokers and non-smokers. Key determinants of smoking stated by the respondents included stress associated with poverty, social norms within the whanau or community, and colonisation. The choice to quit was identified as a personal one, and respondents rejected current smoking strategies as too judgemental, for they fail to empower the client as the main ambassador in the journey to quit. Respondents identified strategies such as nurses as role models, addressing the social context behind initiating smoking, addressing social and individual needs, implementing global approaches to eradicate smoking, and removing triggers to smoke as useful future strategies for smoking cessation. Reference: Gifford, H., Walker, L., Clendon, J., Wilson, D., & Boulton, A. (2013). Maori Nurses and Smoking; Conflicted Identities and Motivations for Smoking Cessation. Kai Tiaki Nursing Research, 4(1), 33-38.