BackgroundQuit attempters often have episodes of smoking relapse before they eventually quit. Interactive text messaging through mobile phones has been shown to increase abstinence. This service can be potentially applied on the platform of a social networking service to help quitters maintain abstinence.ObjectiveOur aim was to determine if the group discussion and reminders via the WhatsApp or Facebook social group were effective to prevent smoking relapse in quitters who had stopped smoking recently.MethodsThis was a single-blinded, parallel, 3-arm pilot cluster randomized controlled trial allocating recent quitters, who had completed an 8-week treatment and reported abstinence for at least 7 days, to WhatsApp (n=42), Facebook (n=40), and a control group (n=54). The 2 intervention groups participated in a 2-month online group discussion with either WhatsApp or Facebook moderated by a trained smoking cessation counselor and received a self-help booklet on smoking cessation. The control group only received the booklet. The primary outcome was the 2- and 6-month relapse rates, defined as the proportion of participants who smoked at least 5 cigarettes in 3 consecutive days.ResultsFewer participants in the WhatsApp group (17%, 7/42) reported relapse than the control group (42.6%, 23/54) at 2-month (OR 0.27, 95% CI 0.10-0.71) and 6-month (40.5%, 17/42 vs 61.1%, 33/54; OR 0.43, 95% CI 0.19-0.99) follow-ups. The Facebook group (30.0%, 12/40) had an insignificantly lower relapse rate than the control group (42.6%, 23/54) at 2-month (OR 0.58, 95% CI 0.24-1.37) and 6-month (52.5%, 13/40 vs 61.1%, 33/54; OR 0.70, 95% CI 0.31-1.61) follow-ups. The WhatsApp social groups had more moderators’ posts (median 60, IQR 25 vs median 32, IQR 7; P=.05) and participants’ posts (median 35, IQR 50 vs median 6, IQR 9; P=.07) than their Facebook counterparts, but the difference was insignificant.ConclusionsThe intervention via the WhatsApp social group was effective in reducing relapse probably because of enhanced discussion and social support. Inactive discussion in the Facebook social group might have attributed to the lower effectiveness.ClinicalTrialClinicaltrials.gov NCT02007369; https://clinicaltrials.gov/show/NCT02007369 (Archived by WebCite® at http://www.webcitation.org/6c3RbltQG)

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BackgroundHealth communication inequalities were observed in Western population but less is known about them among the Chinese. We investigated health information seeking behaviours and its social determinants among Chinese adults in Hong Kong.MethodsProbability-based sample surveys over telephone were conducted in 2009, 2010/11 and 2012 to monitor family health and information use. Frequency of health information seeking from television, radio, newspapers/magazines and Internet were recorded and dichotomised as ≥1 time/month and <1 time/month (reference). Logistic regression was used to yield adjusted odds ratios (aOR) of health information seeking for different demographic characteristics, socioeconomic status (education, employment and income), chronic disease and behaviours (smoking, drinking and physical activity).ResultsAmong 4553 subjects in all surveys, most (85.1%) had sought health information monthly from newspapers/magazines (66.2%), television (61.4%), radio (35.6%) or Internet (33.2%). Overall, being male, lower education attainment, lower household income, ever-smoking and physical inactivity were associated with less frequent health information seeking (all P <0.05). Compared with younger people, older people were less likely to search health information from Internet but more like to obtain it from radio (both P for trend <0.001). Having chronic diseases was associated with frequent health information seeking from television (aOR  =  1.25, 95% CI: 1.07–1.47) and Internet (aOR  =  1.46, 95% CI: 1.24–1.73).ConclusionsThis study has provided the first evidence on health information inequalities from a non-Western population with advanced mass media and Internet penetration. Socioeconomic inequalities and behavioural clustering of health information seeking suggested more resources are needed for improving health communication in disadvantage groups.