Mubeen Syed Muhammed, Morrow Martha, Barraclough Simon
Hamndard College of Medicine and Dentistry, Hamdard University, Karachi.
J Pak Med Assoc. 2008 May;58(5):248-53.
To determine the level of tobacco-related attitudes and practices among medical students who study in a designated 'No-Smoking University' in Pakistan's largest city, Karachi. It further highlighted some challenges for tobacco control at the university.
The study design adopted mixed methods. It commenced with an initial qualitative phase using in-depth interviews with medical students and university staff to refine and expand areas of enquiry for the development of a structured cross-sectional survey among second and fifth (final) year students. Thematic analysis was used to analyse qualitative data, while descriptive statistics and various statistical tests were applied to investigate differences along a number of parameters in the survey data.
Overall smoking prevalence across both years was 14.5%; however, there was a sharp disparity along sex lines, with 32% of males and just 1% of females self-identifying as current or occasional smokers. Importantly, the majority of smokers initiated smoking after starting their medical education. Despite students' expressed expectations that they can and should be future non-smoking role models and advocates, their actual knowledge and practices - for males at least - were disappointing. Significantly fewer second year than final year students knew that Hamdard had been designated a 'No-Smoking University', and about half of the participants believed the university had 'effectively' controlled tobacco use on campus. A large majority supported stronger tobacco control measures at the university and in the wider society.
This study highlights weaknesses in the measures taken for tobacco control on the university campus through the picture it provides of the presence of tobacco use, the on-campus initiation of smoking and the increase in smoking rates among final year students by comparison to those in the initial years of medical studies.
确定在巴基斯坦最大城市卡拉奇一所指定的“无烟大学”学习的医学生中与烟草相关的态度和行为水平。该研究还进一步凸显了该大学在烟草控制方面面临的一些挑战。
本研究采用混合方法。首先是定性阶段，通过对医学生和大学工作人员进行深入访谈，以完善和扩展调查领域，从而为二、五年级（最后一年）学生开展结构化横断面调查。采用主题分析法分析定性数据，同时应用描述性统计和各种统计检验来调查调查数据中多个参数的差异。
两年间总体吸烟率为14.5%；然而，性别差异显著，32%的男性和仅1%的女性自称是当前吸烟者或偶尔吸烟者。重要的是，大多数吸烟者是在开始医学教育后开始吸烟的。尽管学生们表示期望自己能够且应该成为未来的无烟榜样和倡导者，但他们的实际知识和行为——至少对男性而言——却令人失望。知道哈姆达德被指定为“无烟大学”的二年级学生明显少于五年级学生，约一半的参与者认为该大学在校园内“有效”控制了烟草使用。绝大多数人支持在大学和更广泛社会中采取更强有力 的烟草控制措施。
本研究通过展示烟草使用情况、校园内吸烟行为的开始以及与医学学习初期相比最后一年学生吸烟率上升情况，突出了大学校园烟草控制措施的薄弱之处。
