Effectiveness of Mobile Apps for Smoking Cessation: Α Review

Regmi, Kabindra; Kassim, Norhayati; Ahmad, Norhayati Hj; Tuah, Nik Ani Afiqah

doi:10.18332/tpc/70088

Cited by 74 publications

(59 citation statements)

References 52 publications

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“…Less research has been performed around the use of smoking cessation apps on smartphones. Nevertheless, a review of eight studies of such apps indicated favourable quit rates for app users in the range of 13 to 24% [4]. Others subsequent studies have also reported favourable results [5,6], but the first full randomised controlled trials (RCT) were not published until 2018.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mass media promotion of a smartphone smoking cessation app: modelled health and cost-saving impacts

et al. 2019

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Background: Smartphones are increasingly available and some high quality apps are available for smoking cessation. However, the cost-effectiveness of promoting such apps has never been studied. We therefore aimed to estimate the health gain, inequality impacts and cost-utility from a five-year promotion campaign of a smoking cessation smartphone app compared to business-as-usual (no app use for quitting). Methods: A well-established Markov macro-simulation model utilising a multi-state life-table was adapted to the intervention (lifetime horizon, 3% discount rate). The setting was the New Zealand (NZ) population (N = 4.4 million). The intervention effect size was from a multi-country randomised trial: relative risk for quitting at 6 months = 2.23 (95%CI: 1.08 to 4.77), albeit subsequently adjusted to consider long-term relapse. Intervention costs were based on NZ mass media promotion data and the NZ cost of attracting a smoker to smoking cessation services (NZ$64 per person). Results: The five-year intervention was estimated to generate 6760 QALYs (95%UI: 5420 to 8420) over the remaining lifetime of the population. For Māori (Indigenous population) there was 2.8 times the per capita age-standardised QALY gain relative to non-Māori. The intervention was also estimated to be cost-saving to the health system (saving NZ$115 million [m], 95%UI: 72.5m to 171m; US$81.8m). The cost-saving aspect of the intervention was maintained in scenario and sensitivity analyses where the discount rate was doubled to 6%, the effect size halved, and the intervention run for just 1 year. Conclusions: This study provides modelling-level evidence that mass-media promotion of a smartphone app for smoking cessation could generate health gain, reduce ethnic inequalities in health and save health system costs. Nevertheless, there are other tobacco control measures which generate considerably larger health gains and cost-savings such as raising tobacco taxes.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mass media promotion of a smartphone smoking cessation app: modelled health and cost-saving impacts

et al. 2019

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“…This study focuses on a qualitative exploration of the experiences of trial participants who interacted with the CTC. Trials evaluating smoking cessation apps are emerging, with recent systematic reviews summarizing preliminary evidence that smoking cessation apps are effective [ 12 , 13 ]. Although this quantitative evidence is important, qualitative data that capture end-users’ perspectives are lacking.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Crush the Crave Quit Smoking App and Young Adult Smokers: Qualitative Case Study of Affordances

Struik¹,

Bottorff²,

Baskerville³

et al. 2018

JMIR Mhealth Uhealth

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BackgroundMobile phone apps have emerged as a promising way to reach young adult smokers, given their high mobile phone ownership rates and openness to receiving cessation support via digital technologies. Although emerging evidence indicates that quit smoking apps are an effective way to reduce smoking among young adults, lacking is formative evaluative research that captures the perspectives of end-users.ObjectiveThe objective of this study was to contribute insights toward understanding how young adults interact with the Crush the Crave (CTC) app, and how this interaction shapes young adults’ smoking cessation experiences and practices, with consideration of the influence of gender.MethodsSemistructured interviews were conducted with 31 young adult CTC end-users. Guided by sociomateriality theory and an affordances approach, data were inductively analyzed to derive thematic findings in relation to the impacts of CTC on quit efforts, and to expose the underlying affordances (mechanisms) that lend to these outcomes. Findings were grouped according to the 4 design components of CTC: credibility, social support, task support, and dialogue support.ResultsThe credibility component of CTC played an important role in harnessing the trust of young adults because it afforded them promise in relation to its potential effectiveness in assisting them with quitting smoking. The social support component lent to various end-user practices and experiences that rendered this aspect as the weakest component in supporting quit efforts. Although most functions situated in the task and dialogue support components were found to be helpful, there were a few affordances in CTC that resulted in negative experiences, notably weaning from smoking. Gender-related influences were also evident. For example, young men preferred to control and self-manage their quitting and, therefore, did not engage with functions that afforded journaling or reminding to stay on track. Women, in contrast, were more likely to benefit from these affordances.ConclusionsAn affordances approach is productive for gaining an in-depth understanding of how mobile apps interact with end-users to lend to particular outcomes. The study findings have implications for developing and improving apps for helping young adults quit smoking, as well as apps that target other health behaviors. Productive affordances may also serve as a framework for leveraging apps for smoking cessation.

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“…[23] Two of the apps examined were supported by small randomized controlled trials [14,24] and one was an observational study [25].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effect of a Mobile Phone Intervention on Quitting Smoking in a Young Adult Population of Smokers: Randomized Controlled Trial (Preprint)

Baskerville¹,

Struik²,

Guindon³

et al. 2018

Preprint

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Effectiveness of Mobile Apps for Smoking Cessation: Α Review

Cited by 74 publications

References 52 publications

Mass media promotion of a smartphone smoking cessation app: modelled health and cost-saving impacts

Mass media promotion of a smartphone smoking cessation app: modelled health and cost-saving impacts

The Crush the Crave Quit Smoking App and Young Adult Smokers: Qualitative Case Study of Affordances

Effect of a Mobile Phone Intervention on Quitting Smoking in a Young Adult Population of Smokers: Randomized Controlled Trial (Preprint)

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