Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-t7czq Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-28T06:57:22.846Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Text2Quit: an analysis of user experiences with a mobile smoking cessation program

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  08 November 2019

L. C. Abroms*
Affiliation:
Department of Prevention & Community Health, The George Washington University, Milken Institute School of Public Health, 950 New Hampshire Avenue NW, 3rd Floor, Washington, DC20052, USA
C. L. Heminger
Affiliation:
Department of Prevention & Community Health, The George Washington University, Milken Institute School of Public Health, 950 New Hampshire Avenue NW, 3rd Floor, Washington, DC20052, USA
A. L. Boal
Affiliation:
WestEd, 4665 Lampson Avenue, Los Alamitos, CA90720, USA
J. M. Van Alstyne
Affiliation:
Consultant
N. Krishnan
Affiliation:
Department of Prevention & Community Health, The George Washington University, Milken Institute School of Public Health, 950 New Hampshire Avenue NW, 3rd Floor, Washington, DC20052, USA
*
Author for correspondence: L. C. Abroms, E-mail: [email protected]

Abstract

Introduction

Studies have shown that Text2Quit and other mobile cessation programs increase quit rates in adult smokers, but the mechanism of effects and user experiences are not well understood.

Aims

This study reports on participants' experiences with the program and explores aspects of the program that they liked and disliked.

Methods

Self-reported experiences of the program were collected through a follow-up survey conducted 1 month after enrollment (n = 185). Participant responses to open-ended items were dual coded by independent coders.

Results

Overall participants agreed that they liked the program (4.2/5), that the program was helpful (4.1/5) and that they would recommend the program to a friend (4.3/5). Top reasons for liking the program included that it served as a constant reminder of quitting (17.8%), the content (16.7%), the encouragement provided (13.3%), and the on-demand tools (12.2%). Top reasons for disliking the program were message frequency (20.5%), content (7.0%), and the lack of personal interaction (7.0%).

Conclusions

The constancy of messaging was both liked as a reminder and disliked as an annoyance. Future programs might be improved by pre-testing and customizing the content based on user preferences, and by adding in human interactions, while keeping a supportive tone and offering on-demand tools.

Type
Original Articles
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s) 2019. Published by Cambridge University Press

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Abroms, L. C., Ahuja, M., Kodl, Y., Thaweethai, L., Sims, J., Winickoff, J. P. et al. (2012). Text2Quit: Results from a pilot test of a personalized, interactive mobile health smoking cessation program. Journal of Health Communication, 17(Suppl 1), 4453. doi:10.1080/10810730.2011.649159 [doi].CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Abroms, L. C., Boal, A. L., Simmens, S. J., Mendel, J. A., & Windsor, R. A. (2014). A randomized trial of Text2Quit: A text messaging program for smoking cessation. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 47(3), 242250. doi:10.1016/j.amepre.2014.04.010.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bandura, A. (1989). Human agency in social cognitive theory. The American Psychologist, 44(9), 11751184.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Douglas, N., & Free, C. (2013). 'Someone batting in my corner': Experiences of smoking-cessation support via text message. The British Journal of General Practice: The Journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners, 63(616), e768e776. doi:10.3399/bjgp13X674459.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Free, C., Knight, R., Robertson, S., Whittaker, R., Edwards, P., Zhou, W. et al. (2011). Smoking cessation support delivered via mobile phone text messaging (txt2stop): A single-blind, randomised trial. Lancet (London, England), 378(9785), 4955. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(11)60701-0.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Heatherton, T. F., Kozlowski, L. T., Frecker, R. C., & Fagerstrom, K. O. (1991). The Fagerström test for nicotine dependence: A revision of the Fagerstrom Tolerance Questionnaire. British Journal of Addiction, 86(9), 11191127.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Heminger, C. L., Boal, A. L., Zumer, M., & Abroms, L. C. (2016). Text2Quit: An analysis of participant engagement in the mobile smoking cessation program. The American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse, 42(4), 450458. doi:10.3109/00952990.2016.1149591.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hoeppner, B. B., Hoeppner, S. S., & Abroms, L. C. (2017). How do text-messaging smoking cessation interventions confer benefit? A multiple mediation analysis of Text2Quit. Addiction (Abingdon, England), 112(4), 673682. doi:10.1111/add.13685.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Horner, G. N., Agboola, S., Jethwani, K., Tan-McGrory, A., & Lopez, L. (2017). Designing patient-centered text messaging interventions for increasing physical activity among participants with type 2 diabetes: Qualitative results from the text to move intervention. JMIR mHealth and uHealth, 5(4), e54. doi:10.2196/mhealth.6666.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Riley, W. T., Rivera, D. E., Atienza, A. A., Nilsen, W., Allison, S. M., & Mermelstein, R. (2011). Health behavior models in the age of mobile interventions: Are our theories up to the task? Translational Behavioral Medicine, 1(1), 5371. doi:10.1007/s13142-011-0021-7.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rosenstock, I. M. (1974). The health belief model and preventive health behavior. Health Education Monographs, 2(4), 354386.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sloan, M., Hopewell, S., Coleman, T., Cooper, S., & Naughton, F. (2017). Smoking cessation support by text message during pregnancy: A qualitative study of views and experiences of the MiQuit intervention. Nicotine & Tobacco Research: Official Journal of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco, 19(5), 572577. doi:10.1093/ntr/ntw241.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Tobacco Use and Dependence Guideline Panel. (2008). Treating tobacco use and dependence: 2008 update. Rockville, MD: US Department of Health and Human Services. Retrieved from https://www.ahrq.gov/professionals/clinicians-providers/guidelines-recommendations/tobacco/index.html.Google Scholar
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (2014). The health consequences of smoking – 50 years of progress: A report of the surgeon general. Atlanta: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Office on Smoking and Health.Google Scholar
White, J. S., Toussaert, S., Thrul, J., Bontemps-Jones, J., Abroms, L., & Westmaas, J. L. (2019). Peer mentoring and automated text messages for smoking cessation: A randomized pilot trial. Nicotine & Tobacco Research: Official Journal of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco, pii: ntz047. doi:10.1093/ntr/ntz047.Google ScholarPubMed
Whittaker, R., McRobbie, H., Bullen, C., Rodgers, A., & Gu, Y. (2016). Mobile phone-based interventions for smoking cessation. The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 4, CD006611. doi:10.1002/14651858.CD006611.pub4.Google ScholarPubMed