Online tobacco cessation education to optimize standards of practice for psychiatric mental health nurses.

This article presents an overview of an online education offering to improve standards of practice for nurses intervening with tobacco-dependent mentally ill populations. Designed as a pilot study and guided by the theory of reasoned action framework, the pretest-posttest educational program was conducted to examine attitudes and beliefs, knowledge, and intentions to integrate tobacco cessation interventions into practice. Although positive attitudes and beliefs were demonstrated, knowledge gaps continued to exist after the online program. Strengths and challenges of the online education offering are presented with recommendations for future research.