Design Considerations for Smoking Cessation Apps: Feedback From Nicotine Dependence Treatment Providers and Smokers

Abstract

BackgroundHundreds of smoking cessation apps are commercially available, but most are not theory-based or designed to take advantage of mobile technology in ways that could make them more engaging and possibly more effective. Considering input from both clinical experts (who understand best practice nicotine dependence treatment requirements) to inform appropriate content and from smokers (the end users) to express their preferences is important in designing these programs in the future.ObjectiveTo assess and compare the opinions of nicotine dependence treatment providers and smokers regarding the design of future smoking cessation apps.MethodsWe surveyed providers (n=264) and smokers who own smartphones (n=40) to assess their opinions on the importance of 21 app design features. Features represented 5 domains: cost, reputation, privacy and security, content and user experience, and communication. Domains were chosen to reflect best practice treatment, leverage mobile technology to support smoking cessation, and elicit important user preferences. Data were collected between June and July 2015.ResultsMost providers agreed that mHealth apps hold promise for helping people quit smoking (203/264, 76.9%) and would recommend them to their clients/patients (201/264, 76.1%), especially if the app were empirically validated (236/264, 89.4%). Few providers believe effective cessation apps currently exist (112/264, 42.4%). Few smokers (5/40, 13%) had ever downloaded a smoking cessation app; of the ones who had not, most said they would consider doing so (29/35, 83%). Both respondent groups indicated the following features were very to extremely important to include in cessation apps: free or low cost, keeps information private, matches individual needs and interests, adapts as one’s needs and interests change, helps to manage nicotine withdrawal symptoms and medication side effects, and allows users to track their progress. Providers and smokers also indicated gaming and social media connectivity were less important than other features. Despite these similarities, the groups had significantly different opinions about the relative importance of various features. In particular, providers rated privacy as the most important feature, whereas smokers rated low cost and the ability to adaptively tailor content as the most important features.ConclusionsSmoking cessation apps hold great promise as intervention tools but only if they engage users and appropriately treat nicotine dependence. Intervention development should take into consideration the perspectives of both treatment experts and smokers. This paper highlights important perspectives from each of these groups to be considered when designing future app-based smoking cessation programs.

Perceptions Toward a Smoking Cessation App Targeting LGBTQ+ Youth and Young Adults: A Qualitative Framework Analysis of Focus Groups

“…Although some research indicates that smokers may not find games to be the most appealing feature [21], in this study, participants felt that gamification was an important form of distraction to the app user as a coping mechanism for cravings. This was critical in the minds of the participants and is supported by evidence demonstrating that assistance with cravings or provision of coping mechanisms such as distractions is central to successfully stopping cigarette addiction [40].…”

“…Other research has found that young persons are cautiously optimistic about the role of apps in health behavior change [19]; however, since that time, the explosion of apps in the market has exponentially increased and gained popularity. More recent research indicates that many current smokers would be interested in using a smoking cessation app [21]. …”

“…These include low cost of the intervention, accessibility, portability, personalization, self-monitoring capabilities, location-determining sensors, access to the Internet, and ability to connect with social networking platforms [19-21]. …”

Change in Patient Comfort Using Mobile Phones Following the Use of an App to Monitor Tuberculosis Treatment Adherence: Longitudinal Study (Preprint)

“…Other mHealth studies considered the usability and receptiveness of application-based tools using different forms of Likert scales [2,7] or qualitative measures from patient responses [5,6] to find important associations related to application quality and user opinions. These studies assessed a variety of health interventions and most had positive results when investigating topics such as usability [3] and acceptability [2,7].…”

“…These mHealth interventions have been applied to monitoring postoperative care [2,3], diabetes self-management [4,5], smoking cessation [6,7], care and prevention of HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases [8], and more. As these interventions begin to spread throughout healthcare, there has been a growing interest in the response to these applications, including topics such as acceptability and feasibility [2], satisfaction by patients and providers [5], and efficiency [4].…”