Diffusion of an Evidence-Based Smoking Cessation Intervention Through Facebook: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Area of Science:

• Digital Health
• Public Health Interventions
• Social Network Analysis

Background:

• Smoking cessation remains a major public health challenge.
• Social networks offer a potential channel for disseminating health interventions.
• Evidence-based mobile applications can support smoking cessation efforts.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the diffusion of a smoking cessation app within Facebook social networks.
• To identify specific intervention components that enhance the spread of the app.

Main Methods:

• Adult smokers were recruited via Facebook and randomized into 12 app variants.
• App variants were designed to test diffusion components: duration of use, contagiousness, and network size.
• The primary outcome measured was the reproductive ratio (R), indicating app spread per user.

Main Results:

• A total of 9042 smokers were randomized.
• The highest diffusion (R=0.087) was achieved by combining active contagion strategies with increased app duration.
• Involving non-smokers did not significantly impact app diffusion.

Conclusions:

• The observed diffusion rate, while modest, is sufficient for large-scale impact on smoking cessation.
• Online health interventions can be strategically designed for effective propagation through social networks.