PROBLEM

High-quality smoking cessation counseling guidelines for people who use tobacco are not fully integrated in acute-care services presenting missed opportunities to improve health outcomes. The role of the practice environment on enhancing or inhibiting guideline use is unknown.

OBJECTIVE

To examine the relationship between the nurse practice environment and nurses' use of smoking cessation counseling practices, and to evaluate the effect of the individual nurse and organization characteristics on nurse smoking cessation counseling practices.

DESIGN

Cross-sectional secondary analysis of survey data from two multisite studies.

SAMPLE

The sample included responses from registered nurses (N = 844) in 45 hospitals (22 rural hospitals from the Eastern United States and 23 Magnet hospitals across the United States).

METHODS

Linear mixed model was used to adjust intradependency among the responses of individual nurses nested within hospitals. Data were abstracted from survey responses including nurse characteristics, the Smoking Cessation Counseling Scale (SCCS), and the Practice Environment Scale-Nursing Work Index (PES).

RESULTS

Increasing positive relationships exist between PES and SCCS total and subscales scores. Also, SCCS total scores were significantly related with favorable PES total scores (SCCS score difference of 0.26 between favorable and unfavorable PES scores, SE = .08, p = .002) controlling for other covariates. Non-White respondents (vs. White) demonstrated a positive association with SCCS total scores (difference of .18, SE = .07, p = .010), but not in advanced counseling.

LINKING EVIDENCE TO ACTION

Nurse practice environments are positively associated with the use of evidence-based smoking cessation practices by nurses. As practice environments become more favorable, higher level counseling practices occur more often. Healthcare leaders should focus on enhancing the practice environment using a quality improvement approach and framework for evidence translation. Quality improvement initiatives should be prioritized in which high-quality evidence is available to support nursing processes.