Background The prevalence of smoking in the United States general population has gradually declined to the lowest rate ever recorded; however, this has not been true for persons with HIV. Objective We conducted a pilot test to assess the feasibility and efficacy of the Lumme Quit Smoking mobile app and smartwatch combination with sensing capabilities to improve smoking cessation in persons with HIV. Methods A total of 40 participants were enrolled in the study and randomly assigned 1:1 to the control arm, which received an 8-week supply of nicotine replacement therapy, a 30-minute smoking cessation counseling session, and weekly check-in calls with study staff, or to the intervention arm, which additionally received the Lumme Quit Smoking app and smartwatch. Results Of the 40 participants enrolled, 37 completed the follow-up study assessments and 16 used the app every day during the 56-day period. During the 6-month recruitment and enrollment period, 122 people were screened for eligibility, with 67.2% (82/122) deemed ineligible. Smoking criteria and incompatible tech were the major reasons for ineligibility. There was no difference in the proportion of 7-day point prevalence abstinence by study arm and no significant decrease in exhaled carbon monoxide for the intervention and control arms separately. However, the average exhaled carbon monoxide decreased over time when analyzing both arms together (P=.02). Conclusions Results suggest excellent feasibility and acceptability of using a smoking sensor app among this smoking population. The knowledge gained from this research will enable the scientific community, clinicians, and community stakeholders to improve tobacco cessation outcomes for persons with HIV. Trial Registration ClinicalTrials.gov NCT04808609; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04808609

Depressive symptoms can affect health outcomes in people living with HIV (PLWH) including adherence to treatment and disease prognosis. Self-management interventions targeting depressive symptoms have been effective in preventing these negative sequelae of depressive symptoms. The processes of self-management include learning skills related to living with the illness needs , accessing resources to manage the illnes s , and coping with the illness. A systematic literature review was conducted to appraise and synthesize the current evidence of self-management interventions targeting depressive symptoms in PLWH. Following the PRISMA guidelines, an electronic search of 4 databases was conducted. Original studies written in English that used a randomized controlled trial design to test the effect of self-management intervention on depressive symptoms were included. Studies were selected that were published on/before April 19, 2022, thus yielding 13 relevant articles. Risk of bias was assessed using the NIH Quality Assessment Tool for Controlled Intervention Studies and narrative synthesis was used to synthesize the results. 40 to 755 participants were included in the studies, with each using various measures to assess depressive symptoms pre-and post-intervention, and timepoints for assessing depressive symptoms post-intervention varied. While 12 studies showed a significant reduction in depressive symptoms post-intervention, only 4 studies that used individual coaching or technology showed lower depressive symptoms in intervention groups in comparison to the control groups. This review can be used to inform scale-up and dissemination of these interventions to improve depressive symptoms in PLWH.

The use of mobile health (mHealth technology) can be an effective intervention when considering chronic illnesses. Qualitative research methods were used to identify specific content and features for a mobile app for smoking cessation amongst people living with HIV (PWH). We conducted five focus group sessions followed by two Design Sessions with PWH who were or are currently chronic cigarette smokers. The first five groups focused on the perceived barriers and facilitators to smoking cessation amongst PWH. The two Design Sessions leveraged the findings from the focus group sessions and were used to determine the optimal features and user interface of a mobile app to support smoking cessation amongst PWH. Thematic analysis was conducted using the Health Belief Model and Fogg’s Functional Triad. Seven themes emerged from our focus group sessions: history of smoking, triggers, consequences of quitting smoking, motivation to quit, messages to help quit, quitting strategies, and mental health-related challenges. Functional details of the app were identified during the Design Sessions and used to build a functional prototype.

UNSTRUCTURED The prevalence of smoking in the United States general population has gradually declined to the lowest rate ever recorded; however, this has not been true for persons with HIV (PWH). We conducted a pilot test to assess the feasibility and efficacy of the Lumme Quit Smoking App, a mobile application and a smartwatch with sensing capabilities to improve smoking cessation in PWH. Forty participants were enrolled in the study and randomly assigned 1:1 to the control arm which received an 8-week supply of NRT, a 30-minute smoking cessation counseling session, and weekly check-in calls with study staff, or to the intervention arm which additionally provided the Lumme Quit Smoking App and a smartwatch. Of the 40 participants enrolled, 37 completed the follow-up study assessments and 16 used the app every day during the 56-day period. During the 6-month recruitment and enrollment period, 122 people were screened for eligibility with 67.2% deemed ineligible. Smoking criteria and incompatible tech were the major reasons for ineligibility. There was no difference in the proportion of 7-day point prevalence abstinence by study arms and no significant decrease in exhaled carbon monoxide for the intervention and control arms separately. However, the average exhaled carbon monoxide decreased over time when analyzing both arms together. Results suggest excellent feasibility and acceptability of using a smoking sensor app among this smoking population. The knowledge gained from this research will enable the scientific community, clinicians, and community stakeholders improve tobacco cessation outcomes for PWH.