![]() ![]() Mobile phone-based cessation interventions have been found to have a positive impact on cessation outcomes. With the proliferation of smartphone usage and the booming app markets, this number is likely to have grown. According to one study, 400 apps to aid smoking cessation were available in the United States, UK and Australian market in 2015. Mobile applications (apps) have become increasingly popular as a tool to support health behaviour change and health outcomes. In terms of long-term success, research shows that only 3–5% of self-quitters remain abstinent after 6–12 months. Whilst a majority of smokers want to quit, only 37% of smokers in England attempted to quit in 2014 of which 19% were successfully abstinent for at least four weeks. In the United Kingdom (UK), although smoking prevalence is at an all-time low, smoking remains one of the major preventable causes of chronic diseases. Smokers seeking to quit, tobacco control policy makers and software developers need to work together to develop apps that are in line with the latest clinical guidelines and strategies to maximise effectiveness.ĭespite the well-known health consequences of tobacco, 1.1 billion people in the world still smoke, causing tobacco to be responsible for approximately 7 million deaths globally every year. Similar to previous mobile app reviews dating back to 2014, our findings show that most mobile apps do not follow existing smoking cessation treatment guidelines, indicating little change regarding the availability of evidence-based mobile apps for smoking cessation in the UK market. In addition, only a minority of apps arrange follow-up appointments or provide additional support to help smokers quit. Only 15% of mobile apps provided information about the benefits of nicotine replacement therapy (NRT), and even fewer provided information regarding types of NRT products (7.1%) or how to use them (2.1%). ResultsĪ majority of apps across both operating systems had low adherence (fulfils 1–2 out of 5 guidelines) to the Five A Guidelines (65.7%) and low adherence (fulfils 1–3 out of 9 guidelines) to the NICE Smoking Cessation Guidelines for Self-Help Materials (63.6%). Pearson chi square tests were run to examine differences between the two operating systems. ![]() After screening, 125 Android and 15 iOS apps were tested independently by two reviewers for adherence to the National Institute of Care and Excellence (NICE) Smoking Cessation Guidelines for Self-Help Materials and the Five A Guidelines for Smoking Cessation. The United Kingdom Android and iOS markets were searched in February 2018 to identify smoking cessation apps. ![]() Considering the promising evidence on the effectiveness of mobile technology for health behaviour change, along with the increasing adoption of smartphones, this review aims to systematically assess the adherence of popular mobile apps for smoking cessation to evidence-based guidelines. Smoking remains one of the major preventable causes of chronic diseases. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Details
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |