Evaluation of the knowledge of pediatric nurses on theeffects of second-hand smoking on child health and theirawareness level about third-hand cigarette smoke

Passive smoking, usually caused by mothers and/or fathers, is considered as a serious problem as active smoking, negatively affects children's health, and is a common condition all over the world. The study was planned to evaluate the knowledge of pediatric nurses about the effects of passive smoking on children's health and their level of awareness about third-hand cigarette smoke. The research was conducted using the online research method in February 2024. The sample consisted of 78 pediatric nurses working in Turkey, who were reached by easy sampling method and met the sample selection criteria. Questionnaire and Third Hand Smoke Awareness Scale were used to collect data. SPSS 27.0 program was used to analyze the data and the study was conducted at a 95% confidence level. Questionnaire and Third Hand Smoke Awareness Scale were used to collect data. SPSS 27.0 program was used to analyze the data and the study was conducted at a 95% confidence level. According to the data obtained, the pediatric nurses who participated in the study had knowledge about the diseases caused by secondhand smoke such as COPD, asthma, pneumonia, but they did not acknowledge that secondhand smoke could cause sudden infant death, growth delay in the children, otitis media, etc and increase the risk of developing type 2 diabetes. It was determined that the level of awareness of pediatric nurses about Third Hand Smoke was at a medium level. Cronbach's alpha values were determined as (0.92) for the Health Effects factor, (0.85) for the Permanence in the Environment factor and (0.94) for the whole Scale. Key Words: Passive smoking, Pediatric nurses, Third-hand cigarette smoke.