Predictors of physical therapists’ intentions to counsel for smoking cessation: Implications for practice and professional education

ABSTRACT

Objective

This study explored factors predicting intention (predominant construct in social cognitive behavioral models) for smoking cessation (SC) counseling that may provide salient information for designing/targeting SC counseling training for physical therapists (PTs). Design: Cross-sectional questionnaire survey of PTs licensed to practice in Canada. Methods: Self-efficacy items and PT views were assessed for internal consistency (Cronbach’s α) and data reduced using principal axis factor analysis. Hierarchical linear regression modeling assessed predictors of intention to counsel for SC. Results: Internal consistency: self-efficacy and PT views: r = 0.937, r = 0.821, respectively. Factor structures from self-efficacy: “skills and knowledge” and “clinic incidentals” (57% total variance); from PT views’: “professional role” and “role modeling” (63.8% total variance). Significant predictors of intent to counsel for SC were “professional role” (β = 0.54, p ≤ 0.001), and “skills and knowledge” (β = 0.23, p ≤ 0.001). Conclusions: Physical therapists’ intent to engage in SC counseling increases when they consider it their “professional role.” Encouraging PTs to view SC counseling as a professional role as well as increasing SC counseling self-efficacy focusing on skills and knowledge to do so needs to be incorporated into entry-level academic physical therapy programs and continuing professional PT education.

KEYWORDS:

• Physical therapist
• smoking cessation counselling
• social cognitive theory

Acknowledgments

This research was funded, in part, through the strategic initiative Advancing the Science to Reduce Tobacco Abuse and Nicotine Addiction. This initiative is a partnership of government and nonprofit organizations under the coordination of the Canadian Tobacco Control Research Initiative (CTCRI) (www.ctcri.ca). The authors acknowledge the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Institute of Aging, which provided a new investigator salary award for Dr. Miller.

Declaration of interest

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Additional information

Funding

Funding also was provided by Johnson & Johnson, Canada and a Faculty Research Grant (Trinity Western University, British Columbia, Canada). Dr. Bodner was supported by the Strategic Training Program in Rehabilitation Research (Canadian Institute of Health Research, Institute of Musculoskeletal Health and Arthritis) and the British Columbia Lung Association. Dr. Rhodes was supported by a new investigator award from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research.