[Mobile applications for smoking cessation in primary care]

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Digital Health
• Primary Care Medicine

Background:

• Primary care physicians are well-positioned to aid smoking cessation.
• Current brief intervention tools are challenging for consistent clinical use.
• Mobile applications offer a potential solution to enhance smoking cessation support.

Purpose of the Study:

• To establish criteria for evaluating mobile applications for smoking cessation.
• To guide clinicians in identifying and utilizing high-quality smoking cessation apps.
• To explore the integration of these apps into routine primary care.

Main Methods:

• Development of quality criteria for smoking cessation apps.
• Evaluation of five French-speaking smoking cessation applications.
• Discussion of app integration into primary care workflows.

Main Results:

• Specific criteria for assessing smoking cessation apps were proposed.
• Five French-speaking apps were reviewed based on the established criteria.
• The potential utility of these apps in primary care was highlighted.

Conclusions:

• High-quality mobile applications can support primary care physicians in smoking cessation efforts.
• Standardized criteria are essential for selecting effective digital health tools.
• Integrating validated apps into primary care can improve smoking cessation outcomes.