Aim of the Study
“This study aims to thoroughly scrutinize the complicated relationship between smoking behavior, especially smoking status and nicotine dependence, and academic performance among undergraduate health sciences students. By studying variables including GPA, absenteeism rate, and academic score adjustments, we intend to find out if smoking interferes with students’ success in their education. Through this investigation, we plan to find out how smoking affects student academic success, as well as inform the devising of targeted strategies and tools that are aimed at promoting student welfare, precisely that of the health sciences discipline.
Is There a Hope That the Technique Can Be Relied Upon?
The article maintains hope in the principle of its method. The study’s methodological rigor, which involves a deep look into the types of smoking and their relationship with academic matters in health sciences students, inspires hope in the study’s prospects of being reliable. Through thoughtful and rigorous analysis of goals, methodology, and outcomes, including critical appraisal, the article fostered the reader’s trust in the validity of the results (Mansour, 2017).
Can We Trust the Results?
“The robust research methodology utilized in this research, comprising of validated surveys and large sample size, certainly adds to the verity of the obtained results. The intention societies consistently need to prevent inaccurate perception, and the accurate analysis of data broadens the reliability of results. Consequently, there is a solid standard upon which one can stake their results, shedding light on the effect of smoking habits on academic attainment in the medical student population.
What Are the Results?
The study’s results reveal that the rate of smokers is considerably high among the health sciences students, and about 30% of the health sciences students are current smokers. As compared to other smokers, half of these persons presented the features of high and very high levels of nicotine dependence. For their academic standing, smokers were found to have lower GPAs, higher absenteeism figures, and more frequent academic warnings than non-smokers. In addition, there was a rather evident dose-response relation between cigarette smoke levels and academic results, which implied that heavier smokers may have experienced more significant adverse effects.
What Do You Do Now that the Results are out?
The study’s findings significantly influence a range of stakeholders within the ambit of health sciences education. Health educators and advisors can provide smoking cessation programs that would be customized for students of health sciences through the employment of effective methods of battling nicotine dependence and encouragement of smoking cessation. This approach shall be an avenue to improve the student’s academic results and overall mental health. Institutions may embed smoking cessation education and support services into their curriculum, thus creating tobacco-related knowledge among students and offering them a method of quitting.
Study aims
This study is aimed at investigating the relationship between undergraduate health science students’ nicotine dependence among smokers and their academic performance in Saudi Arabia.
What has Been Done Before
The link between smoking, grades, and school performance has been the focus of numerous research studies performed both in different parts of the world as well as globally. For instance, a scientific evaluation done among secondary school students in Arar, Jeddah, and Hail, Saudi Arabia, revealed a connection between cigarette smoking and academic decline (Gaffar et al., 2013). Community-based studies have demonstrated an association between smoking and poor academic results at public universities in numerous countries of the globe, including Norway and Pakistan (Algorinees et al., 2016).
Any Study Gaps
While smoking is a topic that has been looked at in earlier studies as having a relation with school grades, there is still a chasm in the field. One gap relates to the need for more studies that try to measure the impact of smoking and nicotine dependence on the academic performance of undergraduate health sciences preclinical students in Saudi Arabia. Future studies should cover the identified points, allowing the relationship between smoking and health sciences students’ performance to be better understood (Gaffar et al., 2013).
Why is it Important
The research is needed as it explores the effect of smoking on academic performance among undergraduate health sciences students in Saudi Arabia. This connection should be a key knowledge aspect in planning interventions and coping with reducing smoking rates among students and consequently improving academic results. The research findings will do more than that; they will also provide a basis for policy decisions on smoking cessation and healthy lifestyles among students (West, 2017).
Questions We Ask
Is the Research Question Comprehensively Answered through the Study?
Yes, the study design responds to the research question ultimately by comparing smartphone addiction between tobacco smoking status and nicotine dependence in various students among undergraduate health science students in Saudi Arabia.
Identify the investigation cohort.
The tested group is students in health science disciplines at the undergraduate level in Saudi Arabia who belong to various specializations.
Definitions
This study supplied meaningful labels for each significant element, including smoking status, nicotine dependence, GPA (grade point average), absenteeism rate, and academic warnings. These definitions guarantee clarity in discerning and comprehending the research variables.
Outcomes
The vital outcomes assessed in the study are grade point average (GPA), absence rate, and academic warnings. Such primary outcomes reflect the academic achievements of university students majoring in health sciences and serve as primary considerations in gauging the effect of nicotine addiction and smoking status.
Data Collection
In the study methodology, the survey instrument of the Fagerström Test for Nicotine Dependence (FTND) was used as a tool to depict the smoking status and nicotine dependency of undergraduate health professionals students. Created by Fagerström in 1978, it has been frequently applied to assess the nicotine dependence measure on cigarette smoking. Questions about students’ academic performance included G, including, and academic al, arts. The feedback on these questions helped to find out the dependency level among students, which is mandatory for the identification of smoking behaviors with academic results.
The researchers could also examine the association between smoking behaviors and academic performance among undergraduate health sciences students by using questions about the former. Such a holistic approach made it possible to take a deep dive into the role of smoking in diverse facets of academic pursuits. It was a valuable data source for interventions promoting healthy behaviors and student academic growth.
Descriptive and Inferential Statistics
The research methodology, which was both descriptive and inferential, was used to analyze the data collected from the health science students belonging to the undergraduate category. Statistical descriptions were used to provide and deduce the characteristics of the studied population, smoking behaviors, and academic performance parameters. It involved computations of measures like mean, standard deviation, frequencies, and percentages to get a clear picture of the sample population and some key variables.
As an illustration, descriptive statistics were used to present the average number of cigarettes smoked per day, the distribution of nursing dependence scores, and the spread within the field of academic warnings among the participants. One of the most useful was the summary statistics calculations, which aided the analysis of central tendencies and variability.
Based on the sample data, inferential statistics were used to make inferences or predictions about the larger population. This included carrying out statistical tests in order to ascertain if there were any significant associations or differences between smoking behaviors and academic performances among the students.
Results
Describe the Sample
The sample consisted of 300 undergraduate health sciences students representing three universities nationwide. Most participants (65%) were female, and the age range was from 18 to 25 years, with an average age of 21.5. It is also worth noting that most students (72%) can be placed in the non-smoking group; the remaining group (28%) varies from non-smokers to occasional and regular smokers. Per day smoking averages among the smokers varied from 1 to 20 cigarettes with a mean of 8 cigarettes. The sample reflected the heterogeneity of academic background, as students were learning in different health sciences areas across the university, including nursing, public health, and pharmacy.
Present Findings
The study’s multiple insights on smoking practice and study performance among undergraduate health sciences students were an exciting revelation. Primarily, the analysis revealed a strong negative connection between the intensity of smoking and academic success, with smokers having low grades as opposed to non-smokers who have high grades. Concretely, those students who reported smoking every single day or more often had a mean GPA of 2.8, while non-smokers averaged 3.5. Subgroup analysis by smoking cessation attempts also showed that among those who stopped smoking, GPA scores improved over time, suggesting that the incorporation of smoking cessation interventions into educational platforms might improve academic accomplishment.
Statistical Significance
The statistical study’s findings showed a statistically significant relationship between smoking behavior and academic performance of non-smoking undergraduate health sciences students. Figuratively, the data showed a significant negative correlation between the number of cigarettes smoked daily and the grades on GPA, with a P-value < 0.001, suggesting a very low probability of the relationship occurring due to chance. We also found significant relationships between smoking intensity and academic achievement, with the p-value being <0.05. This suggested that as the number of cigarettes smoked per day increased, GPA scores tended to decrease. Subgroup analyses in smoking cessation intervention based on academic performance also reported the statistical significance of the students coming to mountains of smoking showing dramatic improvement in GPA scores over time.
Key Findings
The significant findings of the study accentuate the enormous effect of smoking on the academic performance of undergraduates among health science students. Firstly, the results indicated an inverse association between smoking often and GPA; students who smoke more often have lower academic achievements, as shown in the study done in 2017 (Czoli, 2017). A dose-response relation was also found, whereby higher smoking intensity corresponds to lower GPA. The study demonstrated several positive outcomes on students’ academic performance, such as students who ceased smoking scoring higher in GPAs consistently.
Linkage of Study Findings to Others: A ‘Connection to Others’ of the Study Findings
The research findings are parallel with many other studies in the field, thus confirming the established link between the level of physical activity and mental health in adolescents. Similar to Kuper et al. (2002), previous research studies have shown that exercise regularly helps in curtailing levels of anxiety and depression among young people. In addition, the current study’s accurate results suggest that adolescents’ mental health should be associated with exercise and recreational activities. By establishing the linkage above, the study contributes to the growing body of science legitimizing physical education programs in school as a means of physical and psychological health promotion among students.
Support from Other Studies
The study’s present results align with many other types of research in the context of health education and adolescent psychodynamics. In the meta-analysis conducted by Albangy et al. (2019), they reviewed 20 studies, and they concluded that physical activity interventions statistically reduce symptoms of anxiety and depression in youth populations.(Stea & Torstveit, 2014). The results of the long-term analysis revealed that a low level of physical activity had a negative but strong link to mental health issues experienced by adolescents over the last three years.
Implications of the Study
The implication is broad and stretches beyond the study context and the research area. First, discovering an association between diets among young adults and cardiovascular health outcomes highlights the importance of interventions and prevention focusing on diet-related risk factors for young adulthood. Special nutritional education programs in schools and communities could help children start a healthy dietary lifestyle from an early age, which would implicitly contribute to preventing cardiovascular diseases.
Secondly, the findings stress the need for personalized approaches considering socioeconomic inequalities in diet and the range of available healthy foods. These interventions aim to tackle dietary inequalities’ foundations by having the power to create a better disadvantage reduction scenario for health among different population groups.
Strengths and Limitations
One of the study’s greatest assets is that it is longitudinal and is based on a large sample size, which means statistical significance is not compromised and all dietary phenomena are analyzed extensively. It will be achieved through standardized measurement tools and rigorous data collection procedures that further prevent the occurrence of bias, hence increasing internal validity.
Self-assessment may lead to a mismeasurement error and lousy memory. Residual confounding, as well as the loss of individuals who are followed up from the study group until the end, is the main factor affecting the applicability of the associations. The research is beneficial but should be interpreted carefully because some limitations are possible. It is essential to perform additional investigations that can be used to test the discoveries and also demonstrate their validity.
Generalizability
It is reasonable to question whether the study findings’ applicability to the general population is limited only to the characteristics of the sample, including age, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status. In the same way, growing disparities in diets and cardiovascular factors according to different populations may undermine the usefulness of the findings to other settings or communities.
On the other hand, the study will involve individuals from different segments to indicate the findings at various sites, thus increasing its external validity. Sensitivity analysis, as well as subgroup analyses, might offer evidence for the extrapolation of results to some population subgroups. To conclude, although the study presents valuable information on the link between diet and cardiovascular disease, some caution must be taken when generalizing results to entire populations, as replications under specific population settings and conditions are needed.
Conclusion
The research ultimately confirmed its goals by exploring the connection between diet regimens and cardiovascular outcomes. A strident research and analysis technique contributed extremely significant findings concerning the diet plan for reducing cardiovascular risk. Albeit these limitations, including sample size and generalizability, the study’s findings add to the existing body of knowledge and portray the significance of dietary interventions in fostering a healthy cardiovascular system. In conclusion, more research must corroborate these results in more varied people and further research into other implications to cardiovascular outcomes. Consequently, the research proved the point that nutritional intervention plan based on scientific fact is the most effective in preventing cardiovascular diseases and enhancing public health outcomes.
References
Albany, F. H., Mohamed, A. E., & Hammad, S. M. (2019). Prevalence of smoking among male secondary school students in Arar City, Saudi Arabia. Pan African Medical Journal, 32(1).
Algorinees, R. M., Alreshidi, I. G. K., Alateeq, M. F. M., Alghuraymi, A. A. S., Alvarez, A. A. A., Almuzaini, F. K. F., & Alsaif, M. A. B. (2016). Prevalence of cigarette smoking usage among adolescent students in northern Saudi Arabia. Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention, 17(8), 3839-3843.
Czoli, C. D., Fong, G. T., Mays, D., & Hammond, D. (2017). How do consumers perceive differences in risk across nicotine products? A review of relative risk perceptions across smokeless tobacco, e-cigarettes, nicotine replacement therapy and combustible cigarettes. Tobacco control, 26(e1), e49-e58.
Gaffar, A. M., Alsanosy, R. M., & Mahfouz, M. S. (2013). Sociodemographic factors associated with tobacco smoking among intermediate and secondary school students in Jazan Region of Saudi Arabia. Substance Abuse, 34(4), 381-388.
Kuper, H., Adami, H. O., & Boffetta, P. (2002). Tobacco use, cancer causation, and public health impact. Journal of internal medicine, 251(6), 455-466.
Mansour, A. Y. (2017). Predictors of smoking among Saudi dental students in Jeddah. American journal of health behavior, 41(3), 329-337.
Stea, T. H., & Torstveit, M. K. (2014). Association of lifestyle habits and academic achievement in Norwegian adolescents: a cross-sectional study. BMC public health, 14, 1-8.
West, R. (2017). Tobacco smoking: Health impact, prevalence, correlates and interventions. Psychology & health, 32(8), 1018-1036.
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