Diffusion of an evidence-based smoking cessation intervention through Facebook: a randomised controlled trial study...

Area of Science:

• Digital Health
• Public Health Interventions
• Social Network Analysis

Background:

• Online social networks can disseminate health interventions like smoking cessation.
• Understanding which intervention elements drive diffusion is crucial.
• Diffusion is measured by the reproductive rate (R), influenced by duration (t), contagiousness (β), and contacts (z).

Purpose of the Study:

• To test the impact of specific intervention components on the diffusion of a Facebook smoking cessation app.
• To investigate the synergistic effects of intervention elements on the reproductive rate (R).
• To explore the role of non-smokers in facilitating intervention spread.

Main Methods:

• A fractional factorial, randomized controlled trial design was employed.
• Participants ('seed' users) were recruited via online advertising and randomized into 12 groups.
• User interactions and 'descendant' adoptions were tracked; analysis used Poisson regression.

Main Results:

• Results will report a baseline R0 and incidence rate ratios for predictors.
• The study will quantify the impact of enabling/disabling app components on diffusion.

Conclusions:

• The study aims to identify key drivers of health intervention diffusion via social media.
• Findings will inform the design of more effective digital health interventions for smoking cessation.