Accepted for/Published in: JMIR mHealth and uHealth
Date Submitted: Sep 9, 2019
Date Accepted: Mar 29, 2020
Evaluation of the Tobbstop mobile application in the process of smoke cessation: a cluster randomized clinical trial
ABSTRACT
Background:
Mobile applications provide an accessible way to test new health-related methodologies. Tobacco is still the primary preventable cause of death in industrialized countries, constituting an important public health issue. New technologies provide novel opportunities that are effective in the cessation of smoking tobacco.
Objective:
Evaluate the efficacy and usage of a mobile application aimed at assisting adult smokers to quit smoking.
Methods:
A cluster randomized clinical trial. We included smokers over 18 years old who are motivated to stop smoking and use a mobile phone that is compatible with our mobile app. We carried out follow-up visits at 15, 30 and 45 days, and at 2, 3, 6 and 12 months. Participants of Intervention Group had access to the Tobbstop mobile app designed by the research team. The primary outcomes were continuous smoking abstinence at 3 and 12 months.
Results:
773 participants were included in the trial, out of which 602 (77.9%) began the study on their D-Day. 34.15% of the intervention group (IG) did not use the application. The continuous abstention level at 3 and 12 months is significantly larger in those intervention group participants who used the app versus those that did not use the app (at 3 months 38.5% vs 13.4%; P<0.001, and at 12 months 20.9% vs 8.25%; P=0.011). Participants of the intervention group who used the app regularly/correctly have a higher probability of being a smoker at 12 months (OR 7.20, CI; 2.14 – 24.20; P=0.001) than the participants of the control group (CG).
Conclusions:
Regular use of an App for cessation of tobacco use may be effective in comparison to standard clinical practice. Clinical Trial: Clinical Register: NCT01734421. November 27, 2012.
Citation
Request queued. Please wait while the file is being generated. It may take some time.
Copyright
© The authors. All rights reserved. This is a privileged document currently under peer-review/community review (or an accepted/rejected manuscript). Authors have provided JMIR Publications with an exclusive license to publish this preprint on it's website for review and ahead-of-print citation purposes only. While the final peer-reviewed paper may be licensed under a cc-by license on publication, at this stage authors and publisher expressively prohibit redistribution of this draft paper other than for review purposes.