Perceptions About Mindfulness and Text Messaging for Smoking Cessation in Vietnam: Results From a Qualitative Study

Abstract

Background With 15.6 million smokers, Vietnam is one of the top 10 largest cigarette-consuming countries in the world. Unfortunately, smoking cessation programs are still scarce in Vietnam. Mindfulness-based and text messaging–based interventions have been increasingly used in smoking cessation studies in developed countries, with promising results. Given the exponential growth of mobile phone usage in Vietnam in recent years, mobile health interventions could be a potential strategy to increase smoking cessation in Vietnam. However, substantial cultural adaptations are needed to optimize the effectiveness of these interventions among Vietnamese smokers. Objective This study aims to involve qualitative research to inform the development of a mindfulness-based text messaging smoking cessation intervention for Vietnamese smokers. Methods A total of 10 focus groups were conducted with 71 Vietnamese male smokers aged between 18 and 65 years (5-9 participants per focus group). Overall, 5 focus groups were conducted with smokers who had the intention to quit (ie, preparation stage of change in the transtheoretical model), and 5 focus groups were conducted with smokers who did not have the intention to quit (contemplation or precontemplation stage). The focus groups were audio recorded, transcribed verbatim, and analyzed using NVivo 12 software (QSR International). Results The major themes included smoking triggers, barriers and facilitators for quitting, the perceptions of text messaging and mindfulness approaches for smoking cessation, and suggestions for the development of a text messaging–based smoking cessation program. Common smoking triggers included stress, difficulties concentrating, and fatigue. Frequently encountering other people who were smoking was a common barrier to quitting. However, participants indicated that concerns about the harmful effects of smoking on themselves and their wives and children, and encouragement from family members could motivate them to quit. The participants preferred diverse message content, including information about the consequences of smoking, encouragement to quit, and tips to cope with cravings. They suggested that text messages be clear and concise and use familiar language. Most smokers perceived that mindfulness training could be useful for smoking cessation. However, some suggested that videos or in-person training may also be needed to supplement teaching mindfulness through text messages. Conclusions This study provides important insights to inform the development of a text messaging–based smoking cessation program that incorporates mindfulness for Vietnamese male smokers. The results could also be useful for informing similar programs in other low- and middle-income countries.

HIV patients’ perceptions of a potential multi-component mindfulness-based smoking cessation smartphone application intervention

“…PLWH usually manage several medication schedules at the same time which might make it difficult for them to be adherent to the smoking cessation pharmacotherapy [ 63 ]. Finally, consistent with previous research, most of the current study’s participants were interested in combining in-person group counseling with the app to be able to exchange experiences, share feelings, and receive more support from the group interaction [ 68 , 69 ].…”

Telehealth interventions for substance use disorders in low- and- middle income countries: A scoping review

“…Turkey [ 46 , 49 , 50 , 71 ] and Mexico [ 65 , 68 , 69 , 82 ] had four publications each. India [ 52 , 76 ], Vietnam [ 61 , 81 ], and Romania [ 55 , 78 ] had two studies each. Other countries such as Argentina [ 16 ], Jordan [ 51 ], Peru [ 58 ], Malaysia [ 74 ], Korea [ 75 ], South Africa [ 77 ], and Kenya [ 80 ] had one article each ( Fig 3 ).…”

“…Participants cut across individuals in the community who were dependent on psychoactive substances and indicated a willingness to quit, oil workers, night club patrons, families, and children and adolescents. Consequently, settings spanned across workplace [75], general population [16,45,46,49,52,[56][57][58][59]66,81,82], health treatment facilities [44,50,51,53,54,60,65,[67][68][69][70][71]76,77,79,80], night clubs [13,64], and schools [55,61,63,[72][73][74]78].…”

“…Studies which assessed cigarette smoking across various populations dominated our review with 25 articles [16,45,46,[49][50][51][52]54,55,[57][58][59]61,63,65,[68][69][70][71]74,75,78,79,81,82], followed by alcohol use in eight articles [13,44,56,64,72,73,76,80]. One study assessed only methamphetamine [62], one assessed any psychoactive substance use [66], and one study assessed both cigarette smoking and alcohol [77].…”

The psychometric properties of the Vietnamese Version of the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire

“…Although many Vietnamese meditation schools were developed in the early history and mindfulness has been practiced by both Buddhists and non-Buddhists, Vietnamese mindfulness research has only began in recent decade and produced few studies [ 41 – 45 ]. However, most of these studies used strictly qualitative research methods and did not include any well-established mindfulness scale.…”