JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

Mobile health (mHealth) interventions for smoking cessation have grown extensively over the last few years. While these interventions improve cessation rates, studies of these interventions consistently lack sufficient Black smokers. Identifying features of mHealth interventions preferred by Black smokers is critical to develop an intervention which they are likely to use

Objective:

To identify features of mHealth interventions that appeal to Black smokers, using an evidence-based app developed by the National Cancer Institute, QuitGuide, as a reference

Methods:

We recruited Black adult smokers from national online research panels with a focus on the Southeastern United States. Participants were asked to download and use QuitGuide for at least a week prior to participation in virtual individual interviews. Participants gave their opinions about features of the QuitGuide app and other mHealth apps they may have used in the past, and suggestions for future apps.

Results:

Of the 18 participants, 77% were women, with age ranging from 32-65. Themes within five major areas relevant for developing a future mHealth smoking cessation app emerged from the individual interviews: 1) content needs, 2) format needs, 3) functionality, 4) social network, and 5) the need for inclusivity for Black individuals.

Conclusions:

Certain features of mHealth intervention for smoking cessation were highly preferred by Black smokers based on their use of a pre-existing mHealth app, QuitGuide. Some of these preferences are similar to those already identified by the general population while preferences for increasing the inclusivity of the app is more specific to Black smokers. These findings can serve as the groundwork for a large-scale experiment to evaluate preferences with a larger sample size and can be applied in developing mHealth apps that Black smokers are more likely to use.