Text and Mobile Media Smoking Cessation Service for Young Adults in South Texas: Operation and Cost-Effectiveness Estimation

Abstract

To realize the promising potential of services delivered via smart phones to help young adults quit smoking at a high level of cost-efficiency, we constructed a texting and mobile media system that was promoted in South Texas via social media advertising and other recruitment channels. During the 6-month service period described here, enrollments were achieved for 798 participants with a mean age of 29.3 years. Seven-month texted follow-up found that 21% (171) of the enrollees reported abstinence at that point. This is consistent with high rates of success found in studies of telephone counseling for young adults and confirms that text and mobile media service specifically designed for young adults provide a feasible and potentially cost-effective approach to promoting cessation.

Using social media for smoking cessation interventions: a systematic review

“…Of the included articles, 13 out of 15 were original research studies, 21,22,24,[29][30][31][33][34][35][37][38][39][40] with the remaining two being secondary studies; 32,36 12 of the original studies used social media for smoking cessation intervention, 21,22,24,[29][30][31][32][33][34][36][37][38][39][40] and only one of the original studies used social media for smoker recruitment. 35 Since this recruitment study also provided outcomes of smoking cessation, we still included it in the review.…”

“…35 Among the 13 original studies included, one was from the UK, 40 one was from Hong Kong (China), 21 one was from Canada, 31 and the remaining 10 were from the US. 22,24,29,30,33,34,[36][37][38][39] Moreover, there were five original studies clearly based on either theories or clinical guidelines. 21,29,30,38,40…”

“…The number of participants enrolled in the studies varied between 16 and 1698. with the exception of two studies, the mean age of the participants was provided, with a range between 20.8 and 40.5 years. 21,22,24,29,30,[32][33][34][36][37][38][39][40] For the two exceptions, instead of providing mean age, one study provided a range of participants' age (19-29 years); 31 the other study did not provide any information related to the participants' age. 35 The percentages of male participants for all studies ranged from 19% to 97%.…”

“…35 These studies also conducted different lengths and types of assessment. Four studies included two assessments: one at baseline and one at the end of the intervention; 31,34,35,37 four studies included three assessments: baseline, at the end of intervention, and one Figure 1 Article screening processes for using social media for smoking cessation intervention Peer reView • intervention: 68% at week 16 82% at week 20 79% at week 24. • 14-day PPA at 8 weeks for intervention: 45.2%; for control: 40.3%…”

“…recently, extensive work has been performed to demonstrate how social media can assist in smoking cessation. 17,[19][20][21][22][23][24]28 However, results from smoking cessation interventions with different social media tools and intervention types have differed from study to study, 21,22,24,[29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37] and limited studies have summarized the smoking cessation outcomes from social mediabased interventions. Therefore, the objective of this review is to explore the effectiveness of social media-based smoking cessation interventions.…”