Effect of a Mobile Phone Intervention on Quitting Smoking in a Young Adult Population of Smokers: Randomized Controlled Trial
View abstract on PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.A smartphone app for smoking cessation was not more effective than a self-help guide for young adults. Further research is needed to improve digital interventions for smoking cessation.
Area Of Science
- Digital health interventions
- Public health research
- Behavioral science
Background
- Young adults heavily use digital mobile technology, making it a promising channel for smoking cessation interventions.
- This study evaluated a smartphone app, Crush the Crave (CTC), against a self-help guide, On the Road to Quitting (OnRQ).
Purpose Of The Study
- To determine the efficacy of the smartphone app CTC compared to the self-help guide OnRQ in reducing smoking prevalence among young adult smokers.
- To assess the effectiveness of digital mobile technology in smoking cessation for young adults.
Main Methods
- A parallel, double-blind, randomized controlled trial was conducted with 1599 young adult smokers (aged 19-29) in Canada.
- Participants were randomized to receive either the CTC app or the OnRQ self-help guide for 6 months.
- The primary outcome was self-reported continuous abstinence at the 6-month follow-up.
Main Results
- Continuous abstinence rates at 6 months were not significantly different between the CTC app (7.8%) and the OnRQ guide (9.2%).
- Point prevalence abstinence rates at 6 months also showed no significant difference between the two interventions.
- However, both intervention groups showed favorable abstinence rates compared to unassisted quit attempts (11.5%). Participants using the self-help guide reported higher satisfaction and frequency of use.
Conclusions
- The smartphone app CTC was feasible but not superior to the self-help guide OnRQ for smoking cessation in motivated young adults.
- Further research and formative development are needed to enhance the satisfaction and usage of smoking cessation apps.
- Digital mobile technology interventions may require further refinement to effectively serve as alternatives to traditional self-help materials for smoking cessation.