The main purpose of this study was to investigate that the stages of change in smoking cessation behavior among coronary artery disease patients for six months progressed following the stages of change suggested by the transtheoretical model.

Subjects for this descriptive survey were 59 coronary disease patients who were smoking or who had stopped smoking for less than six months.

In the baseline, the distribution of the subjects' stages of change was as follows: pre-contemplation stage 25.4%, contemplation stage 25.4%, preparation stage 22%, and action stage 27.1%. After six months, more subjects in the contemplation(33.3%) and preparation stages(30.8%) progressed to the action stage than those of the pre-contemplation stage(0%). Eighty-one percent of the subjects in the action stage at baseline progressed to the maintenance stage. The relationship between the numbers of smoking cessation attempts for six months and stages of change at baseline was significant(p=.001). However, the relationships between self-efficacy and nicotine dependence at baseline and progression in stages of change after six months were not significant.

Progression in the stages of change for six months among subjects corresponded to the stages of change suggested by the transtheoretical model. Hence, future development and evaluation of intervention programs should be tailored individually considering each patient's stage of change.