Tobacco Cessation Training in Clinical Psychology and Clinical Social Work Programs

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N

190

Smoking; Psychologists; Accreditation (Institutions); Clinical Psychology; Social Work; Counseling Psychology; Graduate Students; Graduate Study; Health Education; Barriers; Surveys; College Curriculum; Questionnaires; Response Rates (Questionnaires)

978-1-109-46700-0

The purpose of this study was to explore the tobacco and smoking cessation training and curriculum in graduate clinical psychology and graduate clinical social work programs. The current status of the clinical graduate programs' tobacco education curricula was evaluated by using the Transtheoretical Model's Stages of Change. Perceived barriers to offering tobacco education curricula were evaluated by using selected components of the Health Belief Model. This study also evaluated the extent to which the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) Smoking Cessation Practice Guidelines (5A's: ask, advise, assess, assist, arrange) were used in the clinical graduate programs. A 21-item questionnaire was sent to the population of 203 clinical graduate psychology programs and 189 clinical graduate social work programs using a three-wave mailing process. Clinical psychology directors returned 110 completed surveys for a response rate of 55.5% (110/198). Clinical social work directors returned 112 completed surveys for a response rate of 60.8% (112/184). The majority of clinical psychology programs (91.1%) and clinical social work programs (80.0%) were in the Precontemplation stage in the Stages of Change model and offered no formal smoking cessation education in their curricula. A small percentage of clinical psychology directors (12.7%) and clinical social work directors (6.2%) indicated that their programs offered more than 3 hours of tobacco education. However, only 1 in 8 clinical social work programs and 1 in 3 clinical psychology programs included the 5A's of tobacco counseling in their curricula. Clinical social work programs were four times more likely than clinical psychology programs to cover sociopolitical topics, whereas clinical psychology programs were two times more likely than clinical social work programs to cover clinical science topics. Clinical psychology directors (45.5%) and clinical social work directors (40.0%) indicated that smoking cessation education in the curriculum was not important. Clinical social work directors with the most prevalent and highest degree (PhD=78.5%) and clinical psychology directors with no formal training in smoking cessation (70.9%) were more likely to indicate that smoking cessation was not at all important. Clinical psychology and clinical social work programs that had smoking cessation training in their curriculum, offered this training as an option or an elective rather than as a requirement. Directors from both programs that offered fewer than 3 hours of education identified the same major common barriers: (1) not enough time in the curriculum; (2) not a curricular priority for training clinical psychologists/clinical social workers; (3) the accrediting body does not require tobacco education; (4) students can get tobacco training on their own; and (5) students have no interest in tobacco training. These findings suggest that clinical psychology and clinical social work students are not receiving consistent, standardized smoking cessation education to effectively use with their clients. Health professionals and government health agencies need to work with the accrediting bodies of clinical psychology and clinical social work programs to standardize smoking cessation education and make it a requirement for their students. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]

As Provided

2012

ED532009