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Table 2 Respondent knowledge of smoking, smoking cessation and the impact of smoking and smoking cessation in older age

From: Treating tobacco dependence in older adults: a survey of primary care clinicians’ knowledge, attitudes, and practice

Statement

All responses n = (%)

Professional Group [n = (%)]

Training Attendance [n = (%)]

Medical

Non-medical

Statistic X2 (df = 1)

Sig p=

Training

No Training

Statistic X2 (df = 1)

Sig p=

Approximately 20 % of the UK adult population smokes. (True)

Correct

79 (46.1)

43 (54.4)

36 (39.1)

4.00

0.048

48 (45.3)

31 (48.4)

0.16

0.752

Incorrect

92 (53.9)

36 (45.6)

56 (60.9)

58 (54.7)

33 (51.6)

Approximately 10 % of adults over the age of 65 smokes. (True)

Correct

23 (13.5)

10 (12.7)

13 (14.1)

0.07

0.825

11 (10.4)

12 (18.7)

2.39

0.164

Incorrect

148 (86.5)

69 (87.3)

79 (85.9)

95 (89.6)

52 (81.3

Approximately 10 life years are lost on average to smoking related disease. (True)

Correct

80 (46.8)

51 (64.5)

29 (31.5)

18.63

<0.001

48 (45.3)

31 (48.4)

0.16

0.752

Incorrect

91 (53.2)

28 (35.5)

63 (68.5)

58 (54.7)

33 (51.6)

Smoking can reduce the effectiveness of certain medications that are prescribed for conditions which are common in later life. (True)

Correct

101 (59.1)

51 (64.5)

50 (54.3)

1.83

0.213

63 (59.4)

37 (57.8)

0.04

0.873

Incorrect

70 (40.1)

28 (35.5)

42 (45.7)

43 (40.6)

27 (42.2)

Smoking can delay wound healing in older people. (True)

Correct

153 (89.4)

73 (92.4)

80 (86.6)

1.34

0.320

94 (88.7)

58 (90.6)

0.16

0.800

Incorrect

18 (10.6)

6 (7.6)

12 (13.4)

12 (11.3)

6 (9.4)

The risk of an older person having a heart attack or stroke increases within 24 h of stopping smoking. (False)

Correct

148 (86.5)

73 (92.4)

75 (81.5)

4.33

0.044

92 (86.7)

55 (85.9)

0.02

1.000

Incorrect

23 (13.5)

6 (7.6)

17 (18.5)

14 (13.3)

9 (14.1)

Smoking can speed cognitive decline in older people. (True)

Correct

129 (75.4)

75 (94.9)

54 (58.7)

30.13

<0.001

77 (72.6)

51 (79.7)

1.06

0.361

Incorrect

42 (24.6)

4 (5.1)

38 (41.3)

29 (27.4)

13 (20.3)

Smoking does not generally stop the progression of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). (False)

Correct

135 (78.9)

67 (84.8)

68 (73.9)

3.08

0.093

89 (83.9)

45 (70.3)

4.45

0.052

Incorrect

36 (21.1)

12 (15.2)

24 (26.1)

17 (16.1)

19 (29.7)

Smoking can cause serious complications in older people with diabetes. (True)

Correct

162 (94.7)

78 (98.7)

84 (91.3)

4.71

0.030

99 (93.4)

62 (96.9)

0.96

0.486

Incorrect

9 (5.3)

1 (1.3)

8 (8.7)

7 (6.6)

2 (3.1)

Older smokers are less likely to want to quit smoking than younger smokers. (False)

Correct

93(54.4)

51 (64.5)

42 (45.6)

6.12

0.014

62 (58.5)

31 (48.4)

1.63

0.202

Incorrect

78 (45.6)

28 (35.5)

50 (54.4)

44 (41.5)

33 (51.6)

Brief smoking cessation advice is less effective than more intensive advice in helping older people to stop smoking. (False)

Correct

133 (77.8)

62 (79.7)

70 (76.1)

0.33

0.586

84 (79.2)

49 (76.6)

0.17

0.704

Incorrect

38 (22.2)

16 (20.3)

22 (23.9)

22 (20.8)

15 (23.4)