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Prevalence of and factors associated with violations of a campus smoke-free policy: a cross-sectional survey of undergraduate students on a university campus in the USA.

ABSTRACT: OBJECTIVE:The aim of this study is to estimate the prevalence of smoking behaviour on campus and to identify the key factors that influence adherence to a campus smoke-free policy. DESIGN & PARTICIPANTS:This study employed a cross-sectional, self-administered survey of undergraduate students at the University of Mississippi. A random sample of all available undergraduate classes was recruited for data collection. Students were provided a survey that included questions on demographics, alcohol use, smoking status, policy awareness, policy attitudes, smoking attitudes, policy support, barriers to policy success and policy violations. RESULTS:The prevalence of past 30-day smoking was 23%. More than 63% of current smokers report ever smoking on campus, but less than 10% ever received a warning or a ticket for their violation. Nearly all respondents (92.5%) reported witnessing someone smoking on campus, and 22% reported witnessing someone receiving a ticket. Barriers to policy success include lack of reminders about the policy, lack of support from students and University administrators, and insufficient fines. Smoking behaviour (OR: 7.96; 95%?CI: 5.13 to 12.36), beliefs about policy adherence (OR: 0.52; 95%?CI: 0.40 to 0.69), support for the policy (OR: 0.71; 95%?CI: 0.55 to 0.91) and attitudes against smoking behaviour (OR: 0.35; 95%?CI: 0.25 to 0.49) were all significantly associated with self-reported policy violations. CONCLUSIONS:This study found that violations of the campus smoke-free policy were fairly frequent and the policy has been largely ineffective, indicating a need for other interventions. Approaches to improve adherence to the policy should address barriers such as reminders about the policy, better policy enforcement and support from the administration.

SUBMITTER: Ramachandran S

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7103814 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Prevalence of and factors associated with violations of a campus smoke-free policy: a cross-sectional survey of undergraduate students on a university campus in the USA.

Ramachandran Sujith S Bentley Sandra S Casey Ethan E Bentley John P JP

BMJ open 20200319 3

<h4>Objective</h4>The aim of this study is to estimate the prevalence of smoking behaviour on campus and to identify the key factors that influence adherence to a campus smoke-free policy.<h4>Design & participants</h4>This study employed a cross-sectional, self-administered survey of undergraduate students at the University of Mississippi. A random sample of all available undergraduate classes was recruited for data collection. Students were provided a survey that included questions on demograph ...[more]

PMID: 32198295

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Project description:ObjectiveIn view of the high-smoking rate among university students in Lebanon and the known adverse effects of second-hand smoking, the American University of Beirut (AUB) decided to implement a non-smoking policy on campus. This study sought to examine the students' compliance and attitudes following the ban.DesignCross-sectional study.SettingA private university in Lebanon.Participants545 randomly selected students were approached. A stratified cluster sample of classes offered in the spring semester of the 2008/2009 academic year was selected. Students completed a self-administered paper and pencil survey during class time.Primary and secondary outcome measuresThe main outcomes were compliance with and attitudes towards the ban. Other secondary outcomes were the perception of barriers to implementation of the ban and attitudes towards tobacco control in general.Results535 students participated in the study. Smokers were generally compliant with the ban (72.7%) and for some (20%) it led to a decrease in their smoking. Students' attitude towards the ban and the enforcement of a non-smoking policy in public places across Lebanon varied according to their smoking status whereby non-smokers possessed a more favourable attitude and strongly supported such policies compared with smokers; overall, the largest proportions of students were satisfied to a large extent with the ban and considered it justified (58.6% and 57.2%, respectively). While much smaller percentages reported that the ban would help in reducing smoking to a large extent (16.7%) or it would help smokers quit (7.4%). Perceived barriers to implementation of the non-smoking policy in AUB included the lack of compliance with and strict enforcement of the policy as well as the small number and crowdedness of the smoking areas.ConclusionsAn education campaign, smoking cessation services and strict enforcement of the policy might be necessary to boost its effect in further reducing students' cigarette use.

Project description:IntroductionIntercultural competence (IC) is an important skill to be gained from higher education. However, it remains unclear what IC means to students and what factors might influence their definitions of IC. The aim of the current study was to qualitatively assess how students at one higher education institution in the USA define IC and to quantitatively test for relationships among IC components and various demographic characteristics, including intercultural experience and study context. A further aim was to descriptively compare the IC definitions from the US sample with the definitions obtained from another sample of university students in Germany.Materials and methodsA purposive sample of n = 93 undergraduate, second semester students at Dickinson College, USA, participated in the study by completing an online questionnaire. The qualitative data were content-analyzed to define the dimensions of IC. The quantitative data were cluster-analyzed to assess the multivariate relationships among the IC components and the demographic characteristics of the sample.ResultsThe most important dimensions of IC were Knowledge, External Outcomes (interaction, communication), and Attitudes (respect, tolerance) according to the US sample. The most frequently chosen dimensions of IC differed between both samples: Knowledge was chosen by the sample in the USA while External Outcomes was chosen by the sample in Germany. Relative to the US sample, significantly more students chose Attitudes, External Outcomes, and Intrapersonal Skills in the sample in Germany. The relationships among IC components and demographic characteristics were only weak in the US sample. A person with IC was rated as Open-minded and Respectful by students who lived predominantly in the USA or Tolerant and Curious by those who lived outside the USA for at least six months.DiscussionThe current results suggest that students residing in two countries (USA or Germany) define IC using similar dimensions. However, IC definitions may depend on the intercultural experience and the current global discourse. Longitudinal studies with representative samples are required to assess how IC definitions change over time.

Project description:Smoking prevention should be a primary public health priority for all governments, and effective preventive policies have been identified for decades. The heterogeneity of smoking prevalence between European Union (EU) Member States therefore reflects, at least in part, a failure by governments to prioritise public health over tobacco industry or possibly other financial interests, and hence potentially government corruption. The aims of this study were to test the hypothesis that smoking prevalence is higher in countries with high levels of public sector corruption, and explore the ecological association between smoking prevalence and a range of other national characteristics in current EU Member States.Ecological data from 27 EU Member States were used to estimate univariate and multivariate correlations between smoking prevalence and the Transparency International Corruption Perceptions Index, and a range of other national characteristics including economic development, social inclusion, quality of life and importance of religion. We also explored the association between the Corruption Perceptions Index and measures of the extent to which smoke-free policies have been enacted and are enforced.In univariate analysis, smoking prevalence was significantly higher in countries with higher scores for corruption, material deprivation, and gender inequality; and lower in countries with higher per capita Gross Domestic Product, social spending, life satisfaction and human development scores. In multivariate analysis, only the corruption perception index was independently related to smoking prevalence. Exposure to tobacco smoke in the workplace was also correlated with corruption, independently from smoking prevalence, but not with the measures of national smoke-free policy implementation.Corruption appears to be an important risk factor for failure of national tobacco control activity in EU countries, and the extent to which key tobacco control policies have been implemented. Further research is needed to assess the causal relationships involved.

Project description:BackgroundGlobally, the rate of unplanned pregnancies among students at institutions of higher education, continue to increase annually despite the universal awareness and availability of contraceptives to the general population. This study examined family planning among undergraduate university students focusing on their knowledge, use and attitudes towards contraception in the University of Education Winneba.MethodsThe study was a descriptive cross-sectional survey using a structured self-administered questionnaire. One hundred undergraduate students from the University of Education Winneba were selected using a multistage simple random sampling technique. A Likert scale was used to assess the attitude of the respondents towards family planning methods.ResultsFindings show that the respondents had a positive attitude towards family planning with an average mean score of about 4.0 using a contraceptive attitude Likert scale. Knowledge of contraception, awareness and benefits however do not commensurate contraceptive use among undergraduate students since availability, accessibility and preference influence usage. Emergency Contraception (Lydia) was reported as easy to get contraceptive, hence the most frequently used contraceptive (31%) among young female students aged 21-24 years who appeared as the most vulnerable in accessing and using contraceptives due to perceived social stigma.ConclusionThe observation that levels of Family Planning awareness levels do not commensurate knowledge and usage levels calls for more innovative strategies for contraceptive promotion, and Education on the various university campus. The study recommends that public Universities in Ghana should consider a possible curriculum restructuring to incorporate family planning updates. In this regard, a nationwide mixed method study targeting other tertiary institutions including colleges of education in Ghana is required to explore the topic further to inform policy and programme decisions.

Project description:Purpose:Harmful alcohol use among University students is a problem throughout the world. However, little is known about alcohol use disorders among JFD university students in Ethiopia. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the prevalence and associated factors of alcohol use disorder (AUD) among Jimma University undergraduate students. Methods:Institution-based cross-sectional study was conducted among Jimma university students. Data were collected from 741 sampled students who were selected through a multi-stage stratified sampling technique. Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test (AUDIT), Oslo 3 items social support scale (OSS-3), and Kessler-6 (K6) tools were used to assess alcohol use disorders, social support, and psychological distress, respectively. Data were analyzed through SPSS version 20.0. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were conducted and adjusted odds ratio (AOR) at a 95% confidence interval (CI) was used to determine the independently associated factors of AUD. Results:The overall prevalence of AUD among Jimma University undergraduate students was 26.5%. There was a positive and independent association between AUDs and being single AOR= 1.98, 95% CI [1.21, 3.22], having a history of mental illness AOR= 1.98, 95% CI [1.04, 3.75], having a history of suicidal attempt AOR= 3.63, 95% CI [1.18, 11.11], smoking cigarette AOR= 5.04, 95% CI [2.02, 12.57], having peer pressure to drink alcohol AOR= 2.72, 95% CI [1.76, 4.19] and presence of mental distress AOR= 2.81, 95% CI [1.83, 4.32]. Conclusion:The findings of this study showed that the prevalence of AUD was high in the sampled undergraduate students of Jimma University. AUD was positively associated with mental, substance, and behavioral risk factors. Therefore, concerted actions needed to emplace to increase the student's awareness of the effect of harmful alcohol use. Moreover, it is recommended that further studies need to be conducted to develop strategies for evidence-based interventions.

Dataset Information

Prevalence of and factors associated with violations of a campus smoke-free policy: a cross-sectional survey of undergraduate students on a university campus in the USA.

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Prevalence of and factors associated with violations of a campus smoke-free policy: a cross-sectional survey of undergraduate students on a university campus in the USA.

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