Abstract:
Background Tobacco use causes serious health problems. Health professionals can play a significant role in preventing tobacco initiation, encouraging current smoker to quit and facilitating cessation attempts. Medical Technologist is a health professional who can serve health promoting and prevention to blood donor, antenatal care women of check-up group. During routine visits, health professionals can persuade patients not to start smoking, provide cessation assistance to patient who want to quit smoking and counsel patients who have not decided to quit smoking. Health professionals serve as a role model for healthy behavior to public. The objective of this study was determined the smoking rate, knowledge, and attitudes among the 3 " year medical technologist students in Thailand. Methods: The WHO Global Health Professionals Survey (GHPS), a self-administered questionnaire, was distributed to the 3" year medical technologist students in 9 faculties of Medical Technologist in Thailand during January - March 2006. The questionnaire topic included smoking rates, knowledge and attitudes concerning tobacco use, exposure to second-hand smoke, desire to quit using tobacco, attitudes and training concerning counseling patients on tobacco cessation, and school curriculum relate to the danger to tobacco taught during health professional training programs. Results: The 632 questionnaires from 9 institutes were received, 'The data showed that ever smokers group was 19.5%, In non-smoking group, the exposure to second- hand smoke rate were 65.6% at home and 38.6%o in public places. With respect to knowledge and attitudes, greater than 90% agreed that tobacco sales to adolescents and advertising of tobacco products should to banned and not allowed smoked in public places. The 3" year medical technologist students showed 88.5% to consider themselves role models for patient’s health decision and still a strong desire to provide cessation assistance to patients who want to quit smoking. Approximately 0.6 % of this surveyed the smoker want to quit smoking cigarettes now and 2.2% of the smoker tried to stop smoking cigarettes this year. The data showed 20.6% of all student has received fornal training in smoking cessation. The advertising for concerning smoking harmful on cigarette cases or sales point had effect to smoking rate 33.0% and 31.2% respectively. Conclusion: Our study indicates that the prevalence of smoking rate of the 3rd year medical technologist students is nearly close to other health professional students in Thailand but lower than other South-east Asia countries. The smoking rate in male is higher than female. Knowledge and training need in smoking cessation approaches to advise patients to stop smoking is important for medical technologist students.
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