Missing the Mark for Patient Engagement: MHealth Literacy Strategies and Behavior Change Processes in Smoking Cessation Apps

Overview

Journal Patient Educ Couns

Publisher Elsevier

Specialties Health Services
Nursing

Date 2017 Nov 21

PMID 29153592

Citations 15

Authors

Samantha R Paige

Julia M Alber

Michael L Stellefson

Janice L Krieger

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Objective: To examine how Transtheoretical Model (TTM)'s processes of change and mHealth literacy strategies are employed in mobile smoking cessation apps.

Methods: A purposive sample of 100 iTunes apps were coded to assess descriptive (price, type, developer, user-rating) and engagement metrics, including processes of change and mHealth literacy strategies (plain language, usability, interactivity). One-way ANOVAs and independent samples t-tests examined associations between descriptive and engagement metrics.

Results: Over half of the apps included 7 (78%) processes of change. Fewer included self-liberation (36%) and reinforcement management (34%). Most apps incorporated plain language, but few integrated usability and interactivity strategies. Hypnotherapy and informational apps included more behavioral processes of change than apps incorporating a combination of features, including gaming, cigarette trackers, and motivational coaching (p<0.01).

Conclusion: Apps included behavior change processes but rarely incorporated usability and interactivity features to promote patient engagement. Engagement metrics did not vary by app user-ratings, price-to-download, or developer, including for-profit organizations or government and educational institutions.

Practice Implications: Providers should acknowledge the popularity of smoking cessation apps as potential cessation aids and communicate their benefits and drawbacks to patients. Future efforts to improve smoking cessation apps should focus on enhancing the quality of tailored and interactive content.

Citing Articles

Evaluating the Impact of a Game (Inner Dragon) on User Engagement Within a Leading Smartphone App for Smoking Cessation: Randomized Controlled Trial.

White J, Toussaert S, Raiff B, Salem M, Chiang A, Crane D J Med Internet Res. 2024; 26:e57839.

PMID: 39475840 PMC: 11561441. DOI: 10.2196/57839.

Preliminary Survey Data From an App-Delivered Hypnosis Intervention for Smoking Cessation.

Alldredge C, Muniz V, Ekanayake V, Elkins G Tob Use Insights. 2024; 17:1179173X241287398.

PMID: 39376250 PMC: 11457181. DOI: 10.1177/1179173X241287398.

Feasibility and Acceptability of a Mobile Game to Support Smoking Cessation: Repeated Measures Study.

Goodwin S, Nastasi J, Newman S, Rapoza D, Raiff B JMIR Serious Games. 2024; 12:e54684.

PMID: 39167443 PMC: 11375377. DOI: 10.2196/54684.

Identifying Patterns of Smoking Cessation App Feature Use That Predict Successful Quitting: Secondary Analysis of Experimental Data Leveraging Machine Learning.

Siegel L, Wiseman K, Budenz A, Prutzman Y JMIR AI. 2024; 3:e51756.

PMID: 38875564 PMC: 11153975. DOI: 10.2196/51756.

Characterizing perceived usability and its correlation with smoking cessation: An analysis of user assessments of the smoking cessation app quitSTART.

Chen Z, Siegel L, Prutzman Y, Wiseman K Internet Interv. 2024; 35:100714.

PMID: 38313141 PMC: 10835281. DOI: 10.1016/j.invent.2024.100714.

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