Work stress, smoking habits and competence in supporting clients to cease smoking—a survey among Finnish nurses

This paper describes results of a survey of Finnish nurses (n=882), their views of themselves as employees, their experiences of work stress and their competence to guide clients in smoking cessation. Nursesʹ skills to guide clients were fairly good but they had a lack of knowledge of smoking cessation centers and nicotine substitutions. The more positive the nursesʹ views were of themselves as employees, and the less they had experienced work stress related to their clients, the better they evaluated their skills and knowledge to guide clients to cease smoking. The results can be used to develop nurse education by providing a stronger knowledge base of smoking cessation. Nursesʹ view of themselves as employees could be strengthened by providing them with positive feedback from colleagues and managers. Public Health (2000) 114, 464–467.