Midwives' recommendation of e-cigarettes for smoking cessation
Research type
Research Study
Full title
How do midwives' knowledge and attitudes of all aspects of electronic cigarettes influence the recommendation for their use as a smoking cessation strategy in pregnancy?
IRAS ID
274637
Contact name
Amy Broadfield
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Lincoln
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 2 months, 24 days
Research summary
Euromonitor, a market research group have predicted that the rapidly expanding e-cigarette market will have around 55 million users by 2021 (British Broadcasting Company, 2018). According to data published by the NHS, around 10.6% of pregnant woman conventionally smoke at the time of delivery (NHS, 2018). There is a rising popularity of e-cigarette use during pregnancy, however the long-term effects on mother and fetus are unclear.
For this thesis, the knowledge and attitudes held by a midwife regarding electronic cigarettes will be explored, as well as whether this affects their recommendation to expecting mothers. The results will be analysed to see if there is a relationship between knowledge, attitudes and likelihood of recommendation as a smoking cessation strategy.
Due to the lack of evidence regarding long-term effects of use, it seems inevitable to investigate the knowledge and attitudes a midwife holds surrounding e-cigarettes are their use as smoking cessation strategy during pregnancy.
The proposed research will explore how the knowledge and attitudes towards electronic cigarettes held by midwives influences their recommendation of them as smoking cessation strategy in pregnancy. Midwives were specifically chosen for this research due to their interactions with pregnant women who either smoke conventional cigarettes and/or use electronic cigarettes. There is also encouragement from hospitals for pregnant women to stop smoking. There will be a questionnaire distributed that will gage the knowledge and attitudes surrounding electronic cigarettes. It will take a mixed-methods approach with both quantitative and qualitative questions.
The results of this study may affect future clinical practice by bringing to light the knowledge and attitudes a midwife has regarding electronic cigarette use in pregnancy, and thus may bring a change in recommendation.
A minimum of 267 participants is expected in this study. 20 NHS trusts in England will be contacted in order to reach this minimum.REC name
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REC reference
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