Smoking behaviours of Hong Kong Chinese hospitalised patients and predictors of smoking abstinence after discharge: a cross-sectional study

OBJECTIVES: Patients admitted to hospitals represent an excellent teachable moment for smoking cessation, as they are required to abstain from tobacco use during hospitalisation. Nevertheless, smoking behaviours of hospitalised patients, and factors that lead to smoking abstinence thereafter, remain relatively underexplored, particularly in a Hong Kong Chinese context. This study aimed to examine the smoking behaviours of hospitalised patients and explore factors leading to their abstaining from cigarette use after being hospitalised. DESIGN: A cross-sectional design was employed. SETTING: This study was conducted in three outpatient clinics in different regions in Hong Kong. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 382 recruited Chinese patients. PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOME MEASURES: The patients were asked to complete a structured questionnaire that assessed their smoking behaviours before, during and after hospitalisation. RESULTS: The results indicated 23.6% of smokers smoked secretly during their hospital stay, and about 76.1% of smokers resumed smoking after discharge. Multivariate logistic regression analysis found that number of days of hospitalisation admission in the preceding year (OR 1.02; 95% CI 1.01 to 1.27; p=0.036), patients’ perceived correlation between smoking and their illness (OR 1.08; 95% CI 1.01 to 1.17; p=0.032), withdrawal symptoms experienced during hospitalisation (OR 0.75; 95% CI 0.58 to 0.97; p=0.027) and smoking cessation support from healthcare professionals (OR 1.18; 95% CI 1.07 to 1.36; p=0.014) were significant predictors of smoking abstinence after discharge. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study will aid development of appropriate and innovative smoking cessation interventions that can help patients achieve more successful smoking abstinence and less relapse. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: NCT02866760.