Talk to the Veterans Crisis Line now
U.S. flag
An official website of the United States government

VA Health Systems Research

Go to the VA ORD website
Go to the QUERI website

HSR Citation Abstract

Search | Search by Center | Search by Source | Keywords in Title

Gender differences in smoking cessation services received among veterans.

Sherman SE, Fu SS, Joseph AM, Lanto AB, Yano EM. Gender differences in smoking cessation services received among veterans. Women's health issues : official publication of the Jacobs Institute of Women's Health. 2005 May 1; 15(3):126-33.

Dimensions for VA is a web-based tool available to VA staff that enables detailed searches of published research and research projects.

If you have VA-Intranet access, click here for more information vaww.hsrd.research.va.gov/dimensions/

VA staff not currently on the VA network can access Dimensions by registering for an account using their VA email address.
   Search Dimensions for VA for this citation
* Don't have VA-internal network access or a VA email address? Try searching the free-to-the-public version of Dimensions



Abstract:

INTRODUCTION: Smoking is the leading preventable cause of death among women in the United States. It is a particular problem for women using the Veterans Health Administration (VA), where the prevalence of smoking among women is 30%. We compared the baseline characteristics of male and female smokers and then assessed the smoking cessation services they received to determine whether there are important gender differences in care. METHODS: As part of a study of implementing national guidelines for smoking cessation taking place at 18/23 VA centers in the southwestern and western United States, we conducted a baseline survey of a random sample of 1,941 smokers in primary care (129 women, 1,812 men) to assess the smoking cessation services received by female and male veterans. Subjects were followed 1 year later (73 women, 1007 men). Results for men and women were compared using chi-square tests and analysis of variance. Logistic regression analyses were conducted to determine factors that were independently associated with receipt of smoking cessation services. RESULTS: Female smokers were younger, more educated, and less likely to be married than male smokers. Women were equally likely to report being advised to quit smoking or referred to a smoking cessation program but were much less likely to report receiving a prescription for nicotine patches (OR .5, 95% CI .3-.9). One year later, female smokers were less likely to have successfully quit smoking. CONCLUSION: Women were less likely to report receiving nicotine patches for smoking cessation. Future interventions to increase use of smoking cessation medications for female smokers will also hopefully increase their quit rate.





Questions about the HSR website? Email the Web Team

Any health information on this website is strictly for informational purposes and is not intended as medical advice. It should not be used to diagnose or treat any condition.