Several studies attested that, of the various professionals
in medical teams, the nurse is the optimal figure to
promote and provide consultation on smoking cessation,
because they are the first-line health-care provider that
spends the most time with the patient (Barta & Stacy
2005; Movsisyan et al. 2012). However, common difficulties
experienced by nurses when conducting smokingcessation
consultations include factors, such as lack of
time, knowledge, training, skills, confidence, and the
ability to motivate the patient (Barta & Stacy 2005). For
example, a review of smoking-cessation interventions by
nurses among pregnant women found that particular barriers
existed, including those which are provider specific
(i.e. lack of knowledge, low self-confidence in delivering
interventions, and the belief that tobacco treatment is not
a role of providers), patient specific (i.e. patients are not
interested in smoking cessation or they might have
stresses in their life that smoking helps to relieve), and
system/organization specific (i.e. lack of time for interventions
and lack of skills/training) (Okoli et al. 2010). In
among individuals with psychiatric illnesses.
another study among 290 nurses, Wetta-Hall et al. (2005)
found those who were younger, with less than 5 years of
work experience, and with no or little experience in clinical
practice, conducted fewer evaluations and provided
fewer consultations for patients regarding their smoking
behaviour. Compared to nurses in other departments,
nurses in psychiatric departments conduct fewer assessments
and interventions for patient smoking behaviour
(Cataldo 2001). Experience with smoking-cessation services
(SCS) can increase the delivery of these services
(Applegate et al. 2008).
Self-efficacy is defined as the ability of a person to
persist and complete tasks and reach goals (Ormrod 2006).
Self-efficacy beliefs determine how people feel, think,
motivate themselves, and behave (Bandura 1994). Selfefficacy
is a variable that provides the greatest explanatory
power regarding the process and conduct of human behaviour
(Bandura 1986; 1997). As such, it is a critical factor for
mediating knowledge application (Chiang et al. 2004).
Borrelli et al. (2001) indicated that the self-efficacy of
psychiatric nurses is the only significant variable that
affects their ability to provide smoking-cessation consultations.
A one-point increase in the self-assessment of a
nurse’s self-efficacy translates into a 30% increase in the
frequency that s/he will discuss smoking cessation-related
issues with a patient (Borrelli et al. 2001).
The Tobacco Hazards Prevention Act (THPA)
(Bureau of Health Promotion, Department of Health
2009) was passed in Taiwan on 11 July 2007 and enforcement
began on 11 January 2009. After that date, all nurses
in the field of psychiatric and mental health were required
to support the policy of smoking cessation and provide
SCS. However, a lack of smoking cessation by patients
with mental illnesses remains a concern. To gain an overview
of the ability of psychiatric nurses to provide SCS,
their self-efficacy to provide such services must be examined.
Unfortunately, there is scant research available on
the self-efficacy of psychiatric nurses to implement SCS.
Thus, the purpose of the present study was to examine
and understand the influence of self-efficacy and its clinical
correlates in providing SCS to psychiatric patients
using a consecutive convenience sample of psychiatric
nurses. The findings of our study can be used to develop
relevant strategies to reinforce and improve the confi-
dence of psychiatric nurses to provide SCS.