Teenager's attitude, knowledge and perception about smoking cigarette : a case from upper secondary school in Kokkola - Finland
Wegye, Edward (2007)
2007
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Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-202503194504
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-202503194504
Tiivistelmä
Purpose: The purpose of this research was to survey the attitude, knowledge and perception of teenager students in upper secondary school in kokkola about smoking cigarette and to evaluate their knowledge about the health effects or risks they knew about smoking. This work also tackles at which age do teenagers starts to smoke and further more was to explore their experiences and the smoking education guidance in schools by public health nurse, teachers, parents, friends and the media. Teenager as a phase of a life and the smoking was handled in the theoretical part of this research. In addition schools as a key setting in health promotion and the role of school nurse was considered too as a key person in promotion of school health.
Method: Quantitative descriptive cross-section design was adapted as a fast means of collecting data. The data were,collected by the use of structured questionnaires in May 2007. The target group of this research were 60 teenager students from Hakalahti upper secondary school in kokkola from grade 7, 8 and 9. The reply rate was 100% and the results were analysed by EXEL for windows program and manually.
Result: The result indicates that teenagers in this school start smoking when they were 13 years old according to the average age of the students as well as the results of this study. Those teens tend not to be accurate about what triggers them to start smoking. Small proportion of the students reported they have never smoked a cigarette. The knowledge about risk of smoking has been well taught by the school nurse and she was highly recognised as the main source of information about smoking, however teachers were contributing to eliminate smoking among school teenagers too.
Conclusion: Health education programs regarding cigarette smoking should be considered as the first step in the school public health Nurse program. It would be more appropriate to focus on modifying students' attitudes and perception toward smoking instead of using only traditional educational curricula. Teaching them different relaxation methods and techniques, empowering them with social life skills and improving their self-esteem as well as self image and their ability "to say no" to smokers or friends who put pressure on them to smoke cigarettes is essential.
Method: Quantitative descriptive cross-section design was adapted as a fast means of collecting data. The data were,collected by the use of structured questionnaires in May 2007. The target group of this research were 60 teenager students from Hakalahti upper secondary school in kokkola from grade 7, 8 and 9. The reply rate was 100% and the results were analysed by EXEL for windows program and manually.
Result: The result indicates that teenagers in this school start smoking when they were 13 years old according to the average age of the students as well as the results of this study. Those teens tend not to be accurate about what triggers them to start smoking. Small proportion of the students reported they have never smoked a cigarette. The knowledge about risk of smoking has been well taught by the school nurse and she was highly recognised as the main source of information about smoking, however teachers were contributing to eliminate smoking among school teenagers too.
Conclusion: Health education programs regarding cigarette smoking should be considered as the first step in the school public health Nurse program. It would be more appropriate to focus on modifying students' attitudes and perception toward smoking instead of using only traditional educational curricula. Teaching them different relaxation methods and techniques, empowering them with social life skills and improving their self-esteem as well as self image and their ability "to say no" to smokers or friends who put pressure on them to smoke cigarettes is essential.