Table 1.
Study characteristics of quantitative studies
| Author/Year | Study population/ sample size | Country/city | Study Design | Gender | Age |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brett et al. (2020) [12] |
506 participants GPs-103 Oncologists-102 Cancer surgeons- 100 Cancer nurse specialists-99 |
England, Wales, Scotland & Northern Ireland |
Cross-sectional online survey. Face-validity. |
Male-41.1% Female-57.5% Prefer not to say- 1.4% |
N/A |
| Egnot et al. (2017) [13] |
142 participants (338 invited) 42% response rate Non-surgical clinicians- 102 (internal medicine, family medicine, preliminary and transitional medicine, cardiology, otolaryngology, emergency medicine, pulmonary critical care) Surgical clinicians- 40 (neurosurgery, plastic surgery, general surgery, obstetrics/gynaecology, anaesthesia, orthopaedics, ophthalmology) |
Columbus, Ohio, USA |
Cross-sectional online survey. Validity not established. Questions on harm reduction developed from previous studies [39]. |
Male- 69 Female- 73 |
Mean age- 28.95 years |
| Feng et al. (2019) [14] |
1023 participants (1291 invited) Pneumology/cardiovascular/oncology- 190 Others- 833 |
China | Cross-sectional online survey. Validity not established. Questions developed from previous studies [20, 40]. |
Male- 692 Female-331 |
20–29 years- 226 30–39 years- 490 40 > years- 307 |
| Kanchustambham et al. (2017) [15] |
115 participants 40% response rate Internal medicine- 40 Internal medicine sub-specialities- 32 Family medicine- 10 Neurology- 5 Psychiatry- 7 Pulmonary- 14 Surgery- 7 |
Saint Louis University Hospital, Missouri, USA |
Cross-sectional online survey. Validity not established. Questions developed from previous studies (not mentioned). |
N/A | N/A |
| Kandra et al. (2014) [16] |
128 participants (787 invited) 31% response rate Family medicine- 28 Internal medicine- 24 Obstetricians/gynaecologists- 21 Psychiatrists- 27 Surgeons- 28 |
North Carolina, USA | Cross-sectional online survey. Validity not mentioned. | N/A |
< 44 years- 47.9% > 45 years- 52.1% |
| Koprivnikar et al. (2020) [17] |
479 participants (1122 invited) Nurse or midwife- 356 Physician- 70 Other- 52 |
Slovenia | Cross-sectional online survey. Validity not established. Pilot tested. Questions developed from previous studies [15, 20, 34, 38, 41]. |
Male- 47 Female- 431 |
20–39 years- 235 (49.1%) > 40 years- 244 (50.9%) |
| Moysidou et al. (2016) [18] |
262 participants (865 invited) 30.3% response rate Physician- 185 Nurse- 77 Physician specialties: GP- 17 Cardiologist- 53 Dentist- 32 Internist- 32 Paediatrician- 17 Respiratory physician- 34 |
Athens, Greece | Cross-sectional online survey. Validity not established. |
Male- 138 Female- 124 |
Mean age- 39 years |
| Mughal et al. (2018) [19] |
312 participants GPs- 117 GP trainees- 189 |
UK |
Cross-sectional online survey. Pilot tested. Validity not established. |
Male- 110 Female- 201 |
N/A |
| Nickels et al. (2017) [20] |
561 participants (1500 invited) 44% response rate Anaesthesiology- 64 Family practice- 97 General surgery- 107 Internal medicine- 89 Pulmonary- 204 |
USA | Cross-sectional postal survey. Face-validity and cognitively tested. |
Male- 464 Female- 97 |
Mean age- 57.2 years |
| Pepper et al. (2015) [21] |
776 participants (2368 invited) 33% response rate Paediatrics- 410 Family medicine- 366 |
USA |
Cross-sectional online survey. Pilot tested. Validity not mentioned |
Male- 526 Female- 250 |
N/A |
| Pepper et al. (2014) [22] |
561 participants (3923 invited) 28% response rate Family medicine- 258 Paediatrician- 114 Nurse practitioner- 189 |
Minnesota, USA |
Cross-sectional online survey. Validity not mentioned. Cognitively tested. Questions developed from previous studies [42]. |
Male- 161 Female- 400 |
Mean age- 47.8 years |
| Salloum et al. (2021) [23] |
216 participants (801 invited) 28.7% response rate Family medicine- 98 Internal medicine- 103 Missing- 15 |
Florida, USA |
Cross-sectional state-wide postal survey. Questions guided and developed from previous studies [16, 36, 43]. Face-validity and cognitively tested. |
Male- 163 Female- 46 Missing-7 |
Mean age- 58.6 years |
| Sharifi et al. (2019) [24] |
147 participants Medical professionals, smoking cessation counsellors, respiratory physicians, cardiologists, internists, paediatricians & GPs |
Iran | Cross-sectional postal survey. Questions developed from previous validated studies [44]. |
Male- 49 Female- 98 |
Mean age- 41.05 years |
| Steinberg et al. (2015) [25] |
158 participants 2.25% response rate (pilot study) Primary care- 62 Specialists (tobacco diseases) oncologists, cardiologists, pulmonologists- 96 |
USA | Cross-sectional online survey. Validity not mentioned |
Male- 44 Female-112 Missing-2 |
N/A |
| Talley et al. (2017) [26] |
80 participants (181 invited) 44% response rate (pilot study) Physician- 48 Nurse- 8 Physicians’ assistant- 6 Nurse practitioner- 16 Other (general or family practice)- 2 |
USA | Cross-sectional online survey. Validity not mentioned. |
Male- 41 Female- 39 |
Mean age- 45.6 years |
| Van Gucht & Baeyens (2016) [27] |
76 participants GPs- 22 (29%) Tobacco counsellors- 54 (71%) |
Flanders, Belgium | Cross-sectional online questionnaire. Some questions developed from previous studies [16]. Validity not mentioned. |
Male: GPs- 33% Tobacco counsellors- 40% Female: GPs-67% Tobacco counsellors- 60% |
Mean age- 45 years |
| Zgliczynski et al. (2019) [28] |
412 participants (500 invited) 82.4% response rate Physicians |
Poland |
Cross-sectional postal survey. Face-validity. |
Male- 147 Female- 265 |
Mean age- 31.9 years |
| Zhou et al. (2020) [29] |
291 participants 46% response rate Primary care physicians (internists, paediatricians or family medicine physicians)- 222 Pulmonary- 33 Allergists/immunologists- 36 |
Michigan, USA |
Cross- sectional online survey. Questions developed from previously validated surveys [45, 46]. |
Male- 160 Female- 131 |
< 30 years- 125 31–40 years- 70 41–50 years- 42 51–60 years- 34 > 60 years- 20 |