Results
One hundred fifty-seven nurses completed the baseline survey and 106 completed the 3-month survey. Of these, 98 (62.4% of 157) had both pre- and posttest data and are the subject of this analysis. Table 1 displays the demographics of the sample. Participants were female, average 43 years of age, and had over 20 years of practice. Almost a third were current smokers. There were no significant differences in demographic characteristics between nurses who completed the 3-month survey and those who dropped out after the baseline. Three months after the educational program, there was significant improvement in the overall frequency of assessment of a smoker’s readiness to quit, the provision of assistance with quitting, recommendations for use of the quitline, and recommendations about medications for cessation. Additionally, significantly more nurses reported reviewing patients’ barriers to quitting and recommending a smoke-free home after discharge (Table 2). An analysis showed that after the educational program, there was an increase in the percentage of nurses who consistently (“always/usually”) assessed smoking status (22.68%, p = .02) and referred smokers to the telephone quitline (15.63%, p = .04). Nurses reported improved confidence in their overall ability to help smokers