A PDA Intervention to Sustain Smoking Cessation in Clients With Socioeconomic Vulnerability

Abstract

This article describes a pilot study to explore use of a personal digital assistant (PDA) to sustain smoking cessation after discharge in clients with socioeconomic vulnerability. The major aim is to describe technology acceptance (perceived ease of use, usefulness, and attitude), portability, technical difficulty, satisfaction, and use time. The sample includes 31 medical surgical clients with average age of 47.35 (+/-13.3), average household income of $13,629 (+/-8,204), average number in the household of 2.67 (+/-2.22), and average education of 11th grade. The results demonstrate mean use time of 9.28 (+/-3.23) hr, or about 1 hr over 8 weeks. Technology acceptance responses indicate the PDA is viewed as useful to the task of smoking cessation but is not perceived as easy to use. The most beneficial aspect is the portability. There are benefits to a PDA smoking cessation intervention but more study is needed before it can be used in practice.

Factors Affecting Acceptability and Usability of Technological Approaches to Diabetes Self-Management: A Case Study

“…The personal digital assistant (PDA) has been considered a promising management tool to improve patient satisfaction and increase compliance with recommended behaviors for diseases, including diabetes. [4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11] In fact, PDAs have been used extensively throughout the world, including the United States, some European countries, such as The Netherlands, France, Germany, and the United Kingdom, China, and India. 12,13 However, advancements in mobile devices and Web 2.0 have been superseded by other technological platforms.…”

Publishing Pilot Intervention Work

“…Principles of quality research writing extend to pilot reports. Reports of pilot work should be clearly identified as such, with the abstract mentioning the preliminary nature of the work (Becker, 2008;Bosak, Yates, & Pozehl, 2009;Buchanan & Khazanchi, 2010;Zadvinskis & Salsbury, 2010). Doing so will ensure that readers who do not have access to the full article are nonetheless aware of the pilot nature of the investigation.…”

Time to Reboot

“…Research into web-assisted tobacco interventions (WATIs),17 tailored informatics applications,18 self-help guidance techniques,19 and assistive personal technologies20 have yielded promising results for engaging patients and their families21 in the personal management of dependency-related problems. At the same time, work is progressing on the biomedical informatics front to investigate the use of personal health records, or PHRs, in giving patients access to—and control of— their own personal health records 22.…”