Gisela Büchele, Anke Jähnke, Kilian Rapp

The harmful influence of smoking on a large number of diseases is undisputed due to a large number of epidemiological studies, and despite this knowledge, the number of adolescent and young adult smokers has increased in recent years. At more than 50%, student nurses in Germany have an above-average prevalence of smoking (Kolleck, 2002 survey).

The aim of this randomised intervention study at nursing schools is to reduce the prevalence of smoking and increase the willingness of nursing students in the intervention group to change their smoking habits.

The intervention consists of 3 teaching units of 6 hours each. The decisive element of the intervention, from which we expect a change in the above-mentioned variables "smoking prevalence" and "willingness to change smoking behaviour", is the methodological approach, which is based on modern findings from learning theory:

Traditional frontal knowledge transfer is to be replaced by active engagement with different aspects of tobacco consumption and the possibilities of smoking cessation. The discrepancy between theoretical knowledge about the harmfulness of tobacco consumption and smoking behaviour requires not inconsiderable suppression processes. We assume that the active confrontation with the topic of "smoking" planned in the teaching units will make the repression processes characteristic of tobacco consumption more difficult, promote reflection on one's own viewpoints and thus lead to a change in attitudes and behaviour. The teaching units therefore provide for a constant active approach to the subject matter. The trainees are encouraged to actively reproduce the content both verbally and in writing in the form of presentations, self-developed brochures or counselling situations.

Methodologically, elements of self-determined learning and elements of problem- and action-orientated teaching are used.

Although the possibilities of smoking cessation will be given a great deal of space, the explicit cessation of smoking is not part of the lessons.

2003 - 2005

33 nursing schools in the state of Baden-Württemberg

Rapp K, Buechele G, Jahnke AG, & Weiland SK† (2006). A cluster-randomized trial on smoking cessation in German student nurses. Prev Med 42, 443-448.

Rapp K, Buechele G, Weiland SK†. Sleep duration and smoking cessation in student nurses. Addict Behav. 2007 Jul;32(7):1505-10.