Employee Attitudes About Moving Toward a Smoke-Free Campus at a Veterans Affairs Hospital

Background: Although Veterans Affairs (VA) hospitals have been smoke-free inside of buildings since 1991, smoke-free campuses have not been initiated. The purpose of this article is to describe staff attitudes regarding making the VA hospital a smoke-free campus except for the mandated smoking shelters. Methods: In 2008, a cross-sectional, anonymous survey was conducted with a convenience sample of employees at a Midwestern VA (N = 397). Results: Descriptive statistics showed that the vast number of employees were in support of a smoke-free campus (76%), relocating the smoking shelters (62%), and offering employees assistance to quit smoking (71%). Multivariate analyses showed that those who were nonsmokers, older, women, and higher educated were the greatest supporters of policies to support a smoke-free environment (p<.05). Write-in comments were generally favorable but also revealed employee resistance related to freedom, personal choice, and potential loss in productivity as smokers go further away from the building to smoke. Conclusions: VA hospitals have unique challenges in implementing smoke-free campus policies.