Evaluation of the Effectiveness of Routine Nurse Education in Prescribing Nicotine Replacement Therapy for Hospitalized Smokers in a University Hospital

The goal of this study is to determine whether training nurses to prescribe nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) can increase the proportion of smoking cessation at one month after hospital discharge among active smokers (daily or occasional tobacco use) hospitalized at the European Hospital Georges Pompidou in the following departments: Hypertension/Vascular Medicine, Nephrology, Pulmonology, and the Cardiac Intensive Care Unit.

The main questions it aims to answer are :

Does training nursing teams in the prescription and adjustment of nicotine replacement therapy increase the proportion of smoking cessation at one month after hospital discharge, defined as a total absence of tobacco consumption for at least seven days prior to the consultation, based on self-report and confirmed by an exhaled carbon monoxide (CO) level of ≤10 ppm? We will compare the usual care provided in the targeted departments with the care provided after all nurses in these departments receive training. The training will involve teaching the prescription of nicotine replacement therapy, dose adjustment, and communication with general practitioners and/or community nurses through a referral letter to facilitate continued care. Nurses will also have access to a dose adjustment document to provide to patients.

Participants will be followed up at discharge and at 1, 3, and 6 months post-discharge. At each visit, they will complete questionnaires on smoking behavior, quality of life, anxiety, and depression symptoms, and an exhaled CO measurement will be performed.