苗栗縣西湖鄉老人吸菸行為及戒菸認知

Objective: To explore smoking behavior and perception of smoking cessation among elderly community residents in a rural area. Methods: Data were collected through a census survey among the elderly aged 65 and over from the Shi-Hu Township. The face-to-face interviews were conducted through home visits using a structured questionnaire. A total of 1,345 subjects were recruited in this survey and the response rate was 96%. Results: In total, 235 (17.4%) of the subjects were current smokers. Of the 235 smoking subjects, 19.2% reported their willingness to quit smoking. Furthermore, the prevalence of smoking among males (35.9%) was significantly higher than that among females (0.8%). Multiple logistic regression analysis indicated that being male (OR=160.67, 95% Cl=52.61-490.65), aged 65 to 74 (OR=4.55, 95% Cl=1.83-11.33), those aged 75 to 84 (OR=3.89, 95% Cl=1.58-9.59), those often exposed to second hand smoking at home (OR=40.44, 95% Cl=19.36-84.46), those sometimes exposed to second hand smoking at home (OR=8.19, 95% Cl=4.39-15.27), those who perceived smoking has no influence on health (OR=2.93, 95% Cl=1.59-5.39), and those with moderate emotional disturbance (OR=7.78, 95% Cl=1.65-36.68), showed significant correlation with smoking behavior. Conclusions: Males younger than 85, often exposed to secondhand smoking at home, who perceived smoking has no influence on health, and with moderate emotional disturbance, have a higher risk of smoking than their township counterparts. Anti-smoking education in the future should emphasize gender and age-specific strategies among the elderly.