Abstract
Abstract
Purpose: Desire to quit smoking is much the same among patients diagnosed with mental illness as in the
general population; however, no active support measures are currently in place to encourage smoking cessation
in such patients. This study aims to clarify changes in smoking awareness among patients with mental illness
taking part in anti-smoking health education, as well as factors inhibiting smoking cessation and it is to
consider how leading to anti-smoking.
Method: Six subjects were chosen from among a group of people who were registered as outpatients at a social
rehabilitation facility, and who had been diagnosed with mental illness, were habitual smokers with a desire
to quit, and were able to take part in a health education program conducted by the researchers over five
sessions. A qualitative descriptive study was carried out using the KJ method to interpret the transcribed
content of statements made by the participating subjects in group sessions.
Results: Eleven groups to explain changes in smoking awareness among patients diagnosed with mental illness
and factors inhibiting smoking cessation were extracted. Five groups were extracted for smoking awareness,
such as “I think that it might be impossible to quit smoking if you have a mental illness” to “having a
mental illness makes it quitting smoking worthwhile.” Six groups were extracted for factors inhibiting
smoking cessation, such as “I think that that cigarettes have a medicinal role, and help to alleviate side
effects.”
Conclusion: The results suggest that to support smoking cessation efforts by patients with mental illness,
encouragement should be provided not just to the individual patients to enable them to take confident steps
toward quitting smoking, but also to the medical personnel providing patient support to allow them to develop
a better understanding of smoking cessation behavior.
