mMotiv8: A smartphone‐based contingency management intervention to promote smoking cessation

Abstract

Cigarette smoking is the leading preventable cause of death and illness in the United States. We tested the usability, acceptability, and efficacy of a smartphone‐based contingency management treatment to promote cessation. We used a nonconcurrent multiple‐baseline design. Participants (N = 14) provided breath carbon monoxide (CO) samples by using a CO meter that was connected to the user's smartphone. An app (mMotiv8) housed on participants' smartphones automatically captured pictures of the CO sampling procedure to validate the end user's identity, and it prompted submissions via a push message delivered to participants' smartphones. Participants earned a $10 incentive for daily abstinence, which was added to a reloadable debit card. Overall, 4% of the CO samples were negative during baseline, and 89% were negative during treatment. Self‐reported usability and acceptability were high, and 85% of the prompted samples were submitted. A smartphone intervention could be scalable and reduce the health consequences and costs associated with cigarette smoking, particularly in rural and low‐income populations.

Leveraging applied behavior analysis research and practice in the service of public health

“…In addition to the special series on public health in this journal, a 2019 special issue of Perspectives on Behavior Science focused on addictions, and showcased substantial basic, translational, applied, and public health contributions of behavior analysis (Washington & Galizio, 2019). Recent conceptual and empirical work has focused on diabetes prevention and management (Raiff et al, 2020), disease transmission in the workplace (Gravina et al, 2020) injury prevention in sports (Quintero et al, 2020;Harris et al, 2020), physical activity (Nieto & Wiskow, 2020;Stedman-Falls & Dallery, 2020), cigarette smoking (Dallery et al, 2021), and health and wellness coaching (Finn & Watson, 2017;Normand & Bober, 2020). The strengths of behavior analysis (e.g., rigorous experimental methods, conceptual account of the causes of health behavior) increase the chances, but do not guarantee, that behavioral technology may lead to public health impact (Hantula, 2019).…”

Patients' beliefs towards contingency management: Target behaviours, incentives and the remote application of these interventions

“…Technology might optimise the application of reinforcement principles, monitoring and reinforcing the target behaviour more frequently than is otherwise possible [22,24]. A meta-analysis of mobile telephone-delivered CM [25] and more recent evaluation studies [19,[26][27][28][29][30] suggest these interventions are effective in generating positive behaviour change. However, the platforms upon which these interventions can be implemented might vary in their appropriateness or acceptability to the patient population.…”

Rebooting Behavioral Science to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions

“…Preliminary data suggest that the EARTH scores predicted the effectiveness of interventions to reduce gasoline consumption for some subjects. In the context of community interventions, the EARTH scale could be applied through a smartphone application (e.g., Dallery et al, 2021), and intervention tactics could be tailored to each individual or community of individuals who share similar values.…”