Abstract
【Abstract】
[Introduction] Implementation of measures to prevent passive smoking is progressing in numerous medical institutions, and cur-rently hospitals that include Psychiatric Unit are working on becoming smoking ban. However, there are few research reports on the implementation of policies for becoming smoking ban in university hospitals that include psychiatric unit. Thus, a key person interview was conducted on the current situation and the approaches leading to the banning of smoking in the Psychiatric Unit of A University Hospital which implemented a policy for becoming smoking ban in 2009.
[Methods] A semi-structured interview was conducted with one member of the Smoking ban Working Group of A University Hos-pital, which has a Psychiatric Unit of 60 beds. The hospital is located in Tokyo. The research was conducted in March 2010. Imple-mentation of this study was approved by the Research Ethics Committee of the institute the author belonged to at the time of the research.
[Results] It was suggested that the implementation of a smoking ban policy at A University Hospital was led by a strong manda-tory power due to the notice that was issued by the Hospital Director to become a smoking ban prompted by the opening of a smoking ban outpatient visit section. No changes in symptoms that could be assumed to be caused by the effect of the banning of smoking were observed in any of the patients due to the implementation of a smoking ban policy at the Psychiatric Unit.
[Conclusion] The implementation of a smoking ban policy at the Psychiatric Unit of A University Hospital was prompted by an impending implementation of a measure to improve the treatment environment, the opening of a smoking ban outpatient visit sec-tion. Though the preparation period was short, they succeeded in making the Psychiatric Unit smoking ban.
