Addressing Passive Smoking in Children - Essay Example

Addressing Passive Smoking in Children “Addressing Passive Smoking in Children” is a peer-reviewed article written byHutchinson, Kuijlaars, Mesters, Muris, Schayk, Dompeling, and Feron to expound on health impacts of passive smoking (PS) in children. According to the article, PS exposure in children is one of the contributing factors for morbidity and mortality. The article is also associated majority of the disabilities in children with lower respiratory infections that are caused by PS exposure. The health effects of PS in children included a high risk of respiratory infections, asthma as well as wheezing. According to the article, PS exposure in children is very high in Dutch, and it mainly takes place at homes. The statistics provided by the authors of the article showed that children below the age of 4 are the main victims of PS exposure (Hutchinson, Kuijilaars, Mesters, Muris, Schayk, Dompeling, & Feron, 2014). The aim of Hutchinson and his colleagues writing this article was to assess the practices of three Dutch health professions concerning parental counseling for PS in children. They used electronic questionnaires in conducting their cross-sectional study. The samples for the study that constituted of 720 physicians were selected from three Dutch health professions located in Limburg, the Netherlands. This was achieved by inviting the physicians’ representatives to complete self-administered electronic questionnaires that had questions on their gender, work experience, and personal smoking habits (Hutchinson et al., 2014). Other issues that were addressed in the questionnaires included their counseling practices as well as education about PS in children. The questionnaires also required the respondents to provide any information regarding their understanding of the risks associated with PS exposure in children. The data collected were analyzed using SPSS and the overall frequencies compared through use of Chi-squared. The authors of the article also used the ANOVA test to compare the practices of the three health professions they had contacted in carrying out the study. Additionally, they conducted logistic regression analyzes in order to evaluate the relationship between facilitators and barriers as well as the rate of dealing with PS exposure in children. The result of the study showed that 11% of the responding physicians (34%) occasionally addressed PS in children. The three health professions also appeared comparable to their occurrence of parental advising for PS in children. The result of the research study also showed that PS was mostly addressed when children developed respiratory problems. According to the research findings, lack of time was the main barrier to counseling and educating parents about PS in children. In addition to this, the results showed that a few of the responders had pursued and completed postgraduate education on PS. 49% of the responders who lacked any education about PS were interested in receiving PS education (Hutchinson et al., 2014). From the results of their study, Hutchinson and his colleagues concluded that it was recommendable for the physicians working in healthcare centers in Limburg, the Netherlands, to frequently provide counseling to parents regarding PS in children. In relation to other studies they had contacted, Hutchinson also affirmed that lack of time was the main challenge for addressing PS exposure in children. According to them, many physicians addressed the issue of PS in children with parents mainly when the children were complaining of respiratory problems. Additionally, they affirmed that there was the need for parental counseling as well as education on PS. Smoking is one of the contributing factors for death in the world. In fact, it is among the top causes of death in the globe. I chose the topic “Passive Smoking in Children” because I believe not all people dying of smoking abused it directly. Some people including children suffer from critical diseases such as aids and cancer because of the habits of other people close to them. For instance, many children in third world countries are infected with AIDs by their parents through feeding. The same applies to children exposed to passive smoking. The article that I have used in completing this paper was assessed from PLOS ONE. I searched for the work smoking, and I received a list of articles from which I chose the article “Addressing Passive Smoking in Children”. PLOS ONE is a multidisciplinary journal that features articles on original research from every discipline within science and medicine. PLOS ONE does not exclude research on the basis of their subject area, and as a result, it facilitates the connection of different disciplines. The authors of the article I contacted in completing communicated effectively in their article. Their choice of words was considerate of all people with the ability to read because they did not use complex words or biological terms that are difficult to understand. In addition to this, the article presented information in a chronological manner by starting with the introduction on the contributions of PS exposure in children before addressing the methods used in carrying out the research and the conclusion made from the results. The author also concluded their article by giving a summary of their research and recommendation. Although the research was carried in Limburg, the Netherlands, the authors aimed at passing the message regarding PS exposure in children to all people with the habit of smoking. They aimed at informing smokers and people close to them that passive smoking has adverse effects on children. In addition to this, the authors aimed at informing professionals in healthcare centers that they are supposed to educate and counsel parents regarding PS exposure in children. This article has informed me a lot. For instance, I knew that professionals occasionally inform parents with smoking habit about the consequences of smoking in children. However, the article proved otherwise. Many healthcare providers including professionals address the issue of PS seriously when the children complain of respiratory infections. From this assertion, it is apparent that professionals play a very significant role in the occurrence of diseases related to smoking. Despite this weakness in the side of professionals, I can affirm that the information, as well as the knowledge I gained from reading the article, was in tandem with my knowledge regarding passive smoking and its effects. Non-smokers including children are the main victims of passive smoking, and it impairs their health. Reference Hutchinson, S., Kuijilaars, J., Mesters, I., Muris, J., Schayk, C., Dompeling, E. & Feron, F. (2014). Addressing Passive Smoking in Children. PLOS ONE. 9(5): e93220. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0093220 Read More