Smoking Habits in Mentally Ill and Veteran Populations - Essay Sample

Introduction

In most cases, smokers with mental disorders engage in smoking habit four times more than smokers who do not suffer from mental illness in the community. In other circumstances, veterans with emotional instability, smoke at double the rate experienced among people who have never been affected by any challenges since there is a minimal level to quit. Critical evaluation is important because it assists in the identification of strengths and weaknesses pertaining to a particular article. As such, evaluation helps to reveal validity, as well as the use of certain results. This particular study determines the rate of smoking, in conjunction with recommendations to quit smoking among the victims.

Is your time best spent reading someone else’s essay? Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER!

Save 25%

Smoking is prevalent among numerous patients globally, whereby mental illness cases are experienced in most cases. Additionally, approximately half of the cigarettes manufactured are consumed by mentally-ill individuals in society. Victims are affected by post-traumatic stress disorders. Besides, the quit rates among the affected individuals are minimal. As such, individuals who suffer from mental sickness pass away a duration before the overall inhabitants internationally. Premature deaths are caused by complications in the same manner as inhaling illness, cancer, and heart ailment, as well, like stroke. Contrarily, smokers experience longer stays in hospitals incurring a higher cost at hospitals.

Practitioners invented cessation treatments to ensure that individuals in society minimize the rate of smoking. Smoking leads to adverse effects in society, considering that most victims do not become productive in society. Regardless of the efforts made, there are numerous individuals who do not focus on the required regulations in regards to smoking cessation. Additionally, there is much staff that is not conversant with the services that are required by members of the community that are smokers to ensure that there are no challenges faced in the near future. On the other hand, most personnel become reluctant since they believe that tobacco cessation hinders recovery from smoking.

According to statistics, the highest percentage of smokers are young males that are not married. Such individuals face challenging situations such as unemployment, being disabled, lower education levels, as well as living in rural areas. According to Kuper (2008), there is no major difference between smokers and non-smokers in regard to inpatient and outpatient days at the hospital. Access to healthcare centers poses a challenge to elderly individuals, people living in rural areas, and unemployed people in society. Eventually, such individuals are not likely to acquire smoking cessation strategies. Web-based cessation is important considering that victims quit smoking habit independently with a shorter time frame, unlike other strategies such as telephone-based cessation intervention.

According to Kirk (2007), mental disorders are linked to high levels and higher rates of smoking among smokers in many nations globally. Most mentally ill victims do not acquire contact with health practitioners due to their status. Mental illness is linked to regular smoking habits considering that such conditions lead to the initiation of smoking traits. Additionally, anxiety and depression lead to drug abuse among young individuals in society as a result of frustration caused by the high rate of unemployment. Nicotine affects human moods and behavior, especially in case an individual is an addict. Furthermore, nicotine cessation is likely to lead to depressive symptoms on the condition that the victim has a previous history of depression.

Self-medication asserts that smoking causes a therapeutic effect to the user in case he/she faces anxiety or depressive symptoms. Contrary to this, health practitioners argue that smoking provides a temporary relief rather whereby such habits create a greater level of depression and anxiety. As such, self-medication is considered a barrier to quit smoking among the victims. Mentally ill smokers are more likely to face adverse effects than individuals who are not mentally ill. Smoking complicates the treatment of mental illness issues among victims in many nations globally. Experts should increase efforts to minimize smoking among such individuals by creating awareness in the community.

The proportion of smokers with mental illness is higher among adults. There are several measures that may be followed to minimize smoking among individuals such as reducing availability of cigarettes, increasing the price, barring all means of promotion, educating citizens about the adverse effects of smoking, as well as, advertising health consequences to ensure that smokers become conversant with the negative outcomes faced in regards to smoking habits. Mental disorders such as anxiety hinder decision making among victims. Psychological factors affect most victims, such as controlling emotions and coping with stress. In most cases, smokers are more likely to deal with challenges independently without any consultation, which leads to depression.

The internet is an important tool for passing important information to numerous individuals within a short timeframe without facing any delay. Recently, technological changes have led to an increased number of internet users globally, considering that it is accessible throughout the day to everybody's convenience. Contrarily, web-based interventions are accessible at a low cost. In addition, there are numerous computers, unlike during the previous years. Online services assist in learning, patient tailoring, and increasing engagement among the victims. Internet users are likely to face frustrations in case certain sites are poorly designed. More often, challenges are linked to readability problems, failure to provide interactive activities, and lack of coverage of the recommended guidelines.

Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Treatment Facilities

Experts conducted an analysis in regards to annual cross-sectional Veterans outpatients' surveys according to the well-being of patients and their past experiences. Therefore, practitioners used logistics to establish an association of mental health diagnostics and its variables in regards to receipts acquired from recommendations offered by prevalent providers to quit smoking. Smoking among individuals with mental disorders is four more times more than smokers who do not experience mental disorders. Mental orders are nursed in specific institutions in the United States, like the Department of Veterans Affairs treatment centers. It is proven that victims that suffer from mental disorders have greater odds of reporting receiving advice to quit in comparison to non-smokers.

The rate of smoking is higher among individuals with substance utilization challenges in the community, considering that most victims are addicted to the habit. According to bivariate examinations conducted by practitioners, people suffering from post-traumatic stress disorders revealed higher rates of tobacco in comparison to people without mental disorders. African Americans were less reluctant to quit smoking habits in comparison to Americans. In particular, there was a larger population of Africa Americans willing to quit smoking, unlike Americans. Thus, fewer people use smoking cessation strategies to assist in quitting smoking. Several challenges are faced due to negative perception regarding treatment, doubting health experts, and lack of proper learning opportunities linked to the advantages of abstaining from smoking.

The government should play an important role in the community by creating awareness through several platforms such as televisions, radios, and social media to ascertain that all citizens are conversant with the hazards of smoking. Patients with mental illness who acquired services from Veterans Affairs (VA) revealed that they accessed services to quit smoking despite the fact that the smoking rate increased regardless of the efforts made by practitioners in the community (Morse, 2015). It is important to ensure that there are valid services to quit smoking to ensure that all victims become conversant with the essential information required to minimize the rate of smoking.

Purpose of the Study

Individuals suffering from post-traumatic disorders are likely to have minimal access regarding tactics required to quit smoking. In defiance of challenges faced by such individuals, there are several individuals who manage to quit smoking in the end. The study aims at evaluating the rate of tobacco consumption in different states and suggestions to stop smoking among affected people in a community. According to a recent study conducted by practitioners, there were many facilities that aimed at eradicating smoking habits in VA institutions, yet there happened to be minimal veteran participation. Veterans faced challenges linked to the distance, which hindered low participation in the organized activities from raising awareness connected to quit smoking. Most individuals live in rural areas, whereas services are available in urban centers.

The study utilized care management by Veteran Affairs, motivational interviewing, and telehealth programs. Motivational interviewing assists victims in abstaining from smoking habits considering that it creates inner inspiration among smokers. Thus, motivational speaking should be used in conjunction with normal care to acquire the well-being of victims having to do with smoking cessations. Motivational interviewing entails a verbal protocol whereby it creates positive impacts within the required timeframe without facing any challenges. According to the study, the veterans who acquire services change their lifestyle completely.

Methodology and Sampling

Researchers used logistic regression to come up with the right decision concerning the relationship between the depending consequences that lead to smoking and the relationship of psychological health breakdown. Therefore, this particular study is connected to (SHEP) Survey of Healthcare Experiences of Patients. The main challenge hooked to the survey was the lack of important information. Samples gathered were classified into various groups such as preceding smokers, smokers, as well as, people who have not for a moment smoked before. As such, people involved in smoking constituted 20% regarding the overall samples. Additionally, people suffering from drug abuse, post-traumatic stress disorders, schizophrenic, and mental illness were also included.

Measurement Methods

There were various measurement methods used to collect data. For instance, previous consumers and current smokers queried concerning the sum total of pharmaceutical visits, whereby a health practitioner offered diverse methods to quit smoking. In case an individual had not experienced such a scenario, he/she represented people who did not require services to quit such skunking patterns (Duffy, Kilbourne, Austin, Dalack, Woltmann, Waxmonshy & Noonan, 2012). Besides, if a patient answered yes, it meant that such a person received services to assist them in ensuring that smoking was not habitual. Veteran Affairs National Patient Database assisted in the provision of codes used as the central independent variable of interest to diagnose mental ailment.

Ethical Consideration

According to numerous outcomes, it was evident that the smoking rate was higher among individuals suffering from substance utilization and mental ailment in the community. Furthermore, African Americans received fewer services directed towards strategies to quit smoking in comparison to Americans. Regardless of the fact that African Americans do not acquire access to reliable sources, they are more likely to quit smoking and change their lifestyles as soon as victims become convers...